Out of Bounds
by sweetysteph
Summary: Alternate Universe: Santana is a college student, studying abroad with her best friend Quinn. She's never been on her own and has always had someone controlling her every move. When she meets Brittany, her point of view starts to change and everything she's been taught is questioned. (Self Discovery type of story) ...Brittana/ Faberry
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: We Have Arrived!

"We finally made it!" a voice shrieked causing me to nearly jump out of my seat. My eyes that had been glued to the window turned to the body next to me.

"Could you be any louder?" I whispered at the overexcited blonde.

"Come on San! We are here! After years of planning and then studying, we did it." She nearly cried as she tugged my arm. I couldn't help the smile that plastered itself onto my face. I had never thought that I'd ever leave the confines of New York, yet alone make it to another country. It took a year for me to get my grades up, but all of that hard work has finally paid off.

" _Good morning passengers! On behalf of Virgin Atlantic, I would like to welcome you to London. We will be descending into Heathrow Airport shortly. We ask that all passengers take this time to gather your belonging, place your seats in the standard upright position and close all trays. Thank you for flying today with Virgin Atlantic." Echoed the voice of the pilot._

"Oh my god, we are really doing this. We are here!" I replied nervously. My stomach was officially in knots. "Quinn!" I practically yelled. We let out a loud laugh before placing our seatbelts on and fixing our seats. Around us the rest of the passengers were slowly gathering up belongings that had been strewn all over the place. Due to the emptiness of the flight, most passengers had moved around to different seats allowing themselves to become more comfortable for the red eye flight.

"I wonder how many of them are in the same program as us." Whispered Quinn. I looked around at all the faces. I could see a few young faces that looked to be around the same age as us.

"Hmm, maybe the guy over there." I laughed slightly. He had his hair styled into a Mohawk and seemed to be pretty tall. From the looks of him, he was possibly in his early twenties.

We remained giggling about everything until the plane finally landed. We gathered our carry-on bags and made our through the passageways, following the signs to the baggage claim.

"Look! I told you they called it the 'Toilet' here! Score one for Santana!" I said cockily as I snapped a picture of the yellow colored sign. Quinn just shook her head and continued down the long passageway.

After about 10 minutes of walking, we finally reached the final obstacle before the baggage claim; Immigration services. The line to have your passport checked was ridiculously long.

"Geez, did all the flights land around the same time for foreigners?" Quinn joked. I gave her a look and we proceeded to waiting in the line.

Surprising enough the line went quicker than expected and soon we found ourselves gathering our luggage. "Okay it's 7:00AM, the pick up is scheduled for 8:00AM. We should head over to the area." Quinn only nodded as her hands were currently preoccupied. "I told you to bring only one luggage Quinn." Wrapped around her shoulders were two purses, one was large enough to hold at least three pairs of clothing with matching shoes. To match, she had two suitcases, including a very large brown one that I'm surprised was even allowed as a checked-in bag. Her second bag was only slightly smaller. "I gots this San." said Quinn with confidence. To my surprise, she actually managed to get her bearings and somehow hauled them towards the meet up point with ease. Lucky for her there were elevators.

"So they said to meet in front of the main terminal exit right? I think this is the right place" I said looking around. I noticed that next to us was a large grouping of seats. "Let's put our stuff here and see if anyone else from our group shows up" After dumping out belongings onto some of the seats, Quinn and I took turns using the bathroom to freshen up. As I waited for Quinn's return, I took out my now useless Iphone. My parents decided against giving me an international plan as we had cheaper options like Imessage, Skype and Facetime. My only concern was that I needed minutes to add to my unlocked phone so I can find Quinn while in School. Hopefully the rates are cheap here. I opened my phone and opened a new game of FreeCell to keep myself occupied.

"Excuse me" said the most annoying voice ever. "I looked up to see a short brunette staring at me.

"Uh yes" I replied annoyed that she ruined my chances of beating my prior high score.

"Oh good, you're American. Are you part of the SUNT Cortland study abroad program?" Relief instantly flooded me and my anger faded away.

"Yes!" I practically shouted.

"Oh thank god. I thought for sure we had gone the wrong way" I stared at her confused that is, until a wave of blonde hair came into view. My focus immediately became clouded by the most bright blue eyes I'd ever seen. She smiled at me causing me to smile back.

"Wow did you really need this much luggage?" asked the annoying brunette completely freeing me from my daze.

Before I could respond another voice interrupted me.

"San! Look at you making friends!" said an overly happy Quinn. In her hands were two fresh cups of coffee.

"You are amazing", I said excitedly taking the coffee from her. "Sugar?"

"2 sugars and one creamer. Don't look so surprised, I've lived with you long enough to know how you take your coffee." she smirked. "Anyway, who's your new friends?" I looked back at both girls; the brunette nd blonde had already managed to put their stuff in the seat across from mine.

"Oh sorry this is..." I then realized I never asked for their names. I put my hand in my hair nervously. "Sorry, I never actually asked did I?" I said causing both girls to laugh.

"I'm Rachel Berry and this is my friend Brittany Pierce." Said the short brunette.

"It's great to meet you. I'm Quinn Fabray and my rude friend here is Santana Lopez." Replied Quinn. If my face could turn any redder, I'd be a tomato.

"Hey! I was a bit preoccupied." I said embarrassed, "Anyway, Rachel to answer your question, this luggage over here in my lap is mine. That pile over there belongs to Ms. Princess Quinn." Quinn scoffed while Rachel laughed.

"Rachel can't talk." Giggled a soft voice, " These bags are actually hers." Brittany pointed at the two overstuffed book bags on the floor in front of her.

"Brittany!" Shrieked Rachel, "We're in another country for an hour and you're already turning on me? Oh no, I'm going to have to find a new best friend aren't I?" said Rachel dramatically.

I looked at Brittany. "Is she a drama major?"

"Music actually. Drama is her minor"

"Ah" Quinn and I said in sync.

"Hey there!" yelled a loud voice. We all turned to see a dark skinned girl heading towards us. "Are you all from the Cortland Study Abroad program?"

"Yes" said Rachel enthusiastically.

"Great! I thought for sure I was going to get lost. I'm Mercedes" She said all in one breath.

"Hi Mercedes! I'm Rachel. This is Brittany, Quinn and Santana." As they talked, I looked around. I wonder who else is sitting around us from the same program?

"Thinking about anything interesting?" said a voice next to me. I looked over to see the curious eyes of Brittany. Quinn and Rachel had occupied the seats across from me with Mercedes and were in the middle of what seemed to be an interesting conversation.

"Not really. I was wondering who else is part of our group." I shrugged. She looked around as I had earlier.

"Hmm, maybe him?" She said. The same guy with the Mohawk on the plane sat at a nearby bench and was fiddling with his phone.

"He was on the same plane as Quinn and I!" I laughed. "Sorry, I have no idea why I am so excited about this." I admitted now embarrassed. "I blame jet lag" Brittany laughed at this and agreed.

"So where are you from?" asked Brittany. She moved closer as if anxiously waiting for my answer.

"Born and raised in New York City." I said proudly, "What about you?"

"I live in Poughkeepsie, NY." She replied, "Do you go to SUNY Cortland?"

"No. I go to SUNY Albany. This was the only program available for Quinn and I to both go to together. Our only other option for England was attending a school in New Castle." I replied all in one sentence. Her eyes remained on me causing me to start feeling less confident. Please tell me my hair isn't a complete mess. Oh my god, I must have something on my face.

"I go to SUNY Oneonta." Said Brittany, completely unaware of my thought process.

"Oh wow, that's really close to us! What, like an hour away?" I asked excitedly. Instantly my phone was in my hand as I tried to open Google Maps. "Oh shoot, no service" She laughed which caused me to join.

"What are you two giggling about over there?" interrupted Quinn.

"Look!" exclaimed Rachel before I could respond. A man was now standing towards the terminal doors with a sign that read, SUNY CORTLAND STUDY ABROAD.

We all scrambled to gather our belongings. Quinn and I shared a smile before following the group. Hopefully this trip will be everything I need to move on from my past.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading my first chapter. I plan to develop the characters more as the story progresses. Let me know what you think so far.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the characters. This is purely for fun and not for profit in any way.

Chapter 2: Cheers!

Gathering all of the students onto the bus to our new dormitory went fairly smooth.

"Lift!" yelled Rachel as she, Quinn, Brittany and I attempted to get all her luggage onto the storage area of the bus.

"Berry, what do you have in here? Rocks?" I hissed as I felt a sharp pain in my finger. "No, just some song books and all my CDS" shrugged Rachel and she finished pushing the luggage into the bus. Before I could reply, a hand grabbed by own causing all the words in my mind to disappear.

"You hurt your finger?" asked Brittany. Her fingers proceeded to massage the jammed finger. Her eyes squinted and she bit her lower lip in concentration. "Does it still hurt?" she asked after what felt like hours. My heart was beating abnormally fast and I'm pretty sure my brain wasn't functioning properly. I could only nod at this point.

"Hurry up you two, we need to get seats!" shouted Rachel.

"Okay." Shouted Brittany, "She's always in a hurry" Our eyes made contact and I wished we didn't have somewhere to go. She let go of my hand softly, as if it were made of glass. "I hope this helped at least a little", She said looking genuinely concerned. Is this just her personality or does she really care? "You know Santana, I think we are going to be great friends." She said before heading onto the bus.

"I hope so" I whispered before following. My mind was a complete mess.

I was surprised to see a good 15 students already seated with still a few people still loading their luggage onto the bus.

"San over here" Waved Quinn lazily. She was already sitting comfortably in her seat , practically snugling with the window. I continued past excited looking students until I reached her. Across the aisle abiout two seat in front of ours sat Rachel and Brittany. Rachel was talking poor Brittany's ear off about something I gave her a sympathetic smile before sitting next to Quinn. About 20 minutes later the bus departed and we were finally leaving the terminal. The bus was full of excited chatter and you could hear bit of conversations about the sights people plan to see and the exciting new classes they will take. It turns out the bus had to stop at a few other terminals before making its way to downtown London. By the time we were out of Heathrow Airport almost all of the chatter had turned into snores. To my left, Quinn was fast asleep with her hoodie over her head, with her head currently resting on my shoulder.

Unfortunately for me, I was wide awake with way too much excitement and anxiety. I never thought that I would be able to leave the country, nevertheless, with the consent of my family. After one year of planning and hard work, Quinn and I finally made this into a reality for us. Maybe this time, I will be be far away enough from everyone and their expectations that I could finally live.

Without trying to disturb Quinn, I leaned forward and slowly pulled out a notebook with a small pen attached and began to write. All of my pain, worries and concerns drifted out of my head and onto this paper, hopefully permanently.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to London!" Shouted a lady. Groggily, Quinn stirred next to me and slowly began to wake. I had been so lost in thought; I hadn't realized we had made it to our dorm yet. Around me, I could hear the rustling of bodies and multiple groans. "I hope you enjoyed that nap, it should be your last one today. I wouldn't recommend sleeping until later tonight unless you enjoy jetlag. " I turned to Quinn who's eyes had bugged out by this. "Now, now you mustn't worry, we have a range of things for you to do in your new dorms! So, in a moment, I will be given my cue and you will all follow me off the bus and into the Nidos Kings Cross Towers." She said in one breath. She looked away briefly before turning her attention back to the bus, "Please follow me everyone. Do not forget your belongings that the bus driver has been kind enough to place ontot the sidewalk for you." She then exited the bus abruptly. As if hit by a wave of energy, everyone jumped up attempting to grab all their belongings and make a mad dash to the outside of the bus.

"Come on San!" yelled Quinn as she threw my book bag into my lap and then pushed me forward, while still holding onto her own bags. I jumped up quickly and followed the crowd off. To my surpise, she wasn't kidding. The bus driver had already managed to pull most of the suitcases out of the compartment, leaving them on the sidewalk to grab. I looked around and couldn't spot Brittany or Rachel anywhere.

"Where are Rachel and Brittany?" I asked Quinn, who was dragging one of her bags.  
"No idea. They probably went inside already" she shrugged as she continued her search for the rest of the bags.

"Oh, right." I replied with a sigh. I hope we see them soon. I didn't even want to stop and think about why it mattered to me so much. After a few minutes with ouru bags in tow, we squeezed by everyone and headed up to our new dorm building.

"Whoa!" I said as I looked up. "It's beautiful" The Nidos Kings Cross were two large glass towers that were connected on the bottom floor by a small building.

"It's huge!" Replied Quinn. "Well we will never get lost that's for sure" she laughed. "Aww man, there's stairs! Imagine having to go down those every morning?" She groaned.

"Looks everyone is going up the ramps over there" I pointed following the small group of students.

Soon we joined the three fairly short lines that had formed in front of the reception desk. The building was not like any of the dorms that I've ever been in. Albany's dormitories were a lot dingier than the bright environment surrounding us. Even the furniture in this building looked more modern and new than those in Albany. In our prior dorm, the bare white walls accompanied by little to no lighting created a sort of dungeon-like atmosphere.

"The walls are so...orange" said Quinn causing me to snicker. She was never fond of that color.

"We are definitely not in the U.S. anymore" The building was pretty much a large square with LCD TVs on each wall displaying what looked to be music videos. As soon as you walk into the building there is a square reception desk with 4 card scanners blocking the entrance to the rest of the building. Around us were different types of cushioned seats where most students had placed their belongings as they waited to be spoken to.

"Is that a ping pong table? Awesome" asked Quinn anxiously.

"Have you even played ping pong? Last time we played tennis, I'm pretty sure you hit several home runs into oncoming traffic." I laughed earning a glare.

"I've kicked your ass at Beer Pong. How different could it be?" She laughed clearly proud of her past accomplishments. I shook my head and found myself looking around again.

"Next" shouted the desk person. I hadn't even realized Quinn was already speaking to the second desk person checking in. I walked forward quickly to the receptionist. "Hi."

"Hello" smiled the guy. "What's your name?"

"Santana Lopez"

"Welcome to London Ms. Lopez" he greeted. "I will need your passport, airline ticket and acceptance letter to your university please."

"Oh right" I replied as I fumbled through my bag.

"I will also need a credit card to pay the security deposit fee of £250." I pulled out my Chase Credit card and then the other documents.

"Here you go" I offered proudly.

"Thank you." He started typing furiously on his computer. After a few minutes I heard the swipe of my credit card. "Ms. Lopez, it looks like there's a problem with your card.

"I can promise you I have barely used that card. There shouldn't be a problem with it."

"Ah. This happens quite often actually. You might have to call your bank and have them unlock the card. It looks like they were most likely not aware of your travels."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Everything okay San?" Asked Quinn. She was staring proudly at her printed ID.

"I have to somehow call my mom. Do you have a phone?" I asked him before turning back to Quinn. "It is 4AM in New York. I told my mom we should have contacted the credit card company"

It took me almost 30 minutes, but finally Quinn and I scanned our newly printed ID cards and officially entered the Nidos Towers.

"So the guy said we are in the North Tower towards the back left. Apparently most of the American groups are there."

"We are room 605? So I'm guessing that's the sixth floor?" I asked as we walked past a few students to the elevator. "So I wasn't hallucinating, the TVS are seriously playing Top 40s music videos."

"At least we will stay up to date on all music."

"But this was all popular 2 months ago. It's not new" I responded, "I can't even change the channel."

We lugged our belongings into the elevator and waited anxiously for it to get to our floor. As soon as it opened, we walked onto a narrow carpeted hallway. We walked forward, staring at all the room numbers.

"look the kitchen!" Said Quinn. It was tinier then we pictured. "Communal kitchen. We've never had a kitchen!" She laughed, "Can you even cook San?"

"I can make pancakes" I shrugged before pulling my bag down the hall. "Look there's our room!" I immediately starting pulling my luggage forward quicker with Quinn following close behind. "Moment of truth" I whispered before scanning my key card.

The door opened.

"It's tiny" was the first thing out of Quinns mouth.

"It's perfect" I smiled. The room was the size of a small dorm. As soon as you walk in there was a tiny bathroom to the right, with a closet to the left. Next to the closet was a big desk that had pots, utensils, cups and plates on top of it stacked neatly. Behind the desk were two of the smallest twin sized beds I'd ever seen with a desk fitting perfectly snug in between both. The best part was there was a very large glass window behind one of the beds that offered a beautiful view of London, that is if you could look past the large Moet billboard.

"This ones mine!" Yelled Quinn and she threw herself onto the bed with the large glass window. I shrugged before taking off my raincoat and placing it onto my bed. The beauty of my bed was that it offered the most privacy as there was a wall blocking its view from the door and no large glass window.

"What is this?" I asked spotting what looked to be a very tiny window next to my bed. I pulled the latch and there was a loud popping noise before the window opened slightly allowing the nice cold air into the room. "I'm pretty sure this is the same window that ships have" I laughed.

"Wow so there's like no storage for any of our stuff aside from clothes." Said Quinn. She was standing in front of the closet assessing the space. We might have to purchase the extra storage option" she groaned. I remembered reading something about storage under the bed. I crawled off my bed and started playing with it. I attempted to pull the mattress up when the entire top portion of the frame lifted up.

"Umm Quinn" I said hoping to get her attention.

"How'd you do that?" She asked running to her bed.

"Ouch Quinn. I barely fit here. Let me move first" I replied as I closed my bed. She opened hers which contained plenty of storage space as well as a safe.

Hours passed and we were still in our room. "What time is the tour?" I asked Quinn. I was laying on my bed enjoying its comfort, while she sorted through her clothing. I had already managed to unpack with all my bags safely hidden underneath my bed.

"1PM I think" she replied with a huff.

"It's already 11."

"I know. I have a headache" she said sleepily. "Let's take a nap" she insisted.

"Are you sure? We were told that sleeping would only make things worse. Plus I feel great."

"Please San" She proceeded to jump onto my bed and hug me.

"Ug get off" I huffed. She only hugged me tighter causing me to laugh "Fine. But only for an hour. I want to take the tour. Don't forget we also need to get sim cards for our phones. Not to mention you have to call your parents."

"I already texted them" she shrugged, "You know how my family is. By the time I logged onto the Wi-Fi here, I had already 20 messages, half of them threatening to call the police on me if I don't respond soon. If I didn't, I'm pretty sure my family would have all gotten onto a plane here and looked for me just to smack me for worrying them." I laughed.

"Well my mami clearly already knows I'm here." I giggled remembering her being forced to wake up to my desperate calls at 4Am.

"Alright bed time!" She said happily while throwing herself onto her bed.

The sound of my phone vibrating woke me. I grabbed it and immediately jumped up.

"Quinn!" I yelped, "Wake up!"

"Huh, what time is it?" She groaned.

"It's already 3:32 PM" I yelped.

"That's it?"

"We missed the tour of the building!"

"So"

"Quinn! We can't sleep all day. Come on go freshen up. We are going to walk around the building." I said throwing one of my pillows at her.

"Fine. No need to get violent" she groaned.

"If you're not up in five minutes, I will personally fill this pot with water and drop it on your head."

After almost 20 minutes, we managed to get ourselves out of our room and made our stop onto the second where the gym and lounge was.

"I can't wait to kick your ass at pool." I said as we exited the lounge area. It was a large loft styled room with two pool tables, a jukebox player, like 3 large TVs, one projector styled tv, desks for studying and then a food court on the bottom level.

"Once I learn how to play, we'll see" She scoffed. "Let's go back upstairs. I want to get my purse. We need to get food for dinner and our Sim cards" She requested.

"Look there's the elevator." She pointed to the closest door.

"Wow for a modernized building, these elevators look old" I said curiously. The elevators we came from were shiny metal doors, while these looked run down. "Are you sure this is the right elevator?" I asked.

"It's an elevator. We'll be fine" She shrugged.

We entered the elevator and clicked on the 6th floor. Just as the doors closed, the elevator jumped and then remained in place. I glared at Quinn.

"Uh I guess its possible we are in the service elevator" she said as she pushed the red button causing me to glare at her.

Hours later, I lay in bed thinking about the past day. Today had been the quickest day of my life. I had already spoken to my family once I purchased my new sim card with Quinn. Then I proceeded to speak with Quinn and her family via facetime. After some tearful goodbyes at the airport, I was surprised how easy it was for them to get off of facetime. I thought back to their tearful goodbye yesterday.

 _"We will miss you." Said Quinn's mom tearfully._

 _"Don't cry mom, if you do then I will" said Quinn as she wiped away her unshed tears._

 _"Be safe" said her brother Dan. His eyes were already watering._

 _"You do realize she's only going for like 5 months" I replied sarcastically. All looked at me and then the tears really started falling._

 _"Alright Quinn... we literally have 20 minutes to get through security before our plane starts boarding!" I whined as they all encircled her and hugged her._

My mind then was brought to Brittany and Rachel. I was sad that we didn't get the chance to tour the building with them. I'm pretty sure if we had, then we wouldn't have gotten stuck in the service elevator for an hour. Or if we had, I have a feeling I wouldn't have attacked Quinn or become extremely claustrophobic. My phone beeped signaling the time of 12:00AM. With a sigh, I placed it underneath my pillow and shut my eyes. Tomorrow would be the first day of the program. Hopefully we could find our way to campus.

"So we take which line again?" Asked Quinn as she stared at her map. We hd managed to wake up on time, buy breakfast and now the train would actually be the reason we are late.

"It starts with a P" I replied checking through my phone email for the directions that were emailed to us. "Pickle something. Damnit, how could we forget the instructions at the dorm?" I nearly yelled.

"I'm pretty sure we are taking the Piccadilly line" She said as we stood in front of the ticket kiosk.

"Here it is! Piccadilly line to Holloway Road!" I practically skipped. "So which zone is that?" She asked as she scrolled through the ticket options.

"Aha. Zone 1" I said proudly. Finally with our tickets in hand we walked to the turnstiles. "it looks similar to the entrance back at Nido." I said. Some people were scanning their cards on the top of the turnstile, while others put the ticket into the slot. We shrugged and followed suit until both of us were through the gates. We followed the signs to the correct line. This involved lots of escalators and way too many people. I never knew that train lines could be so far underground. Thinking back, most of New York City train lines were above ground or barely underground.

After a lot of running and cursing, we made our way onto the train and surprising enough to our stop. The trains were much cleaner then New York, that is for sure.

"I swear I didn't know about that whole standing to the right rule, did you?" I asked her.

"If I had known that rule existed then trust me people would be falling every time I come down the escalator." She said with a smirk.

"You're envisioning this aren't you" I laughed as I could practically see the scenario playing out in her head. We walked up the escalators until we reached the turnstiles. We attempted to walk through, however, the gate wouldn't open. "Is this a trick?" She asked annoyed as she tried again. Suddenly a man from behind us pulled out his ticket and placed it into the turnstile's slot causing the gate to open. We stared at each other with blank looks before following his lead.

"We are going to be late!" I yelled as we ran through the streets of Holloway Road. "Please tell me that's the school" I pointed to the glass doors ahead. We ran inside only to be stopped by more turnstiles. "Come on!" I practically whined. The person at the desk looked up from his magazine.

"Hi. We are here for the SUNY Cortland study abroad program." Said Quinn in one quick breath.

"Oh, you can go through" He said as he pushed a button. The turnstiles turned a green color allowing us through. We ran through and followed the signs for our program meeting area. We finally found the hall just as everyone was entering inside. With one look at each other we joined the group and proceeded to sit in the small lecture classroom.

"Welcome to London everybody" said a chubby woman with red hair. "Congratulations on being accepted into the program and we hope you enjoy your time here." Behind her a PowerPoint presentation opened. "So let's begin" She started. As she spoke about the program and how it originated, I looked around for the familiar blonde hair. I was disappointed when I didn't see her in front of us. Where were they? I hope they didn't sleep through this. It was at 1:00PM for our convenience.

"Okay. So now this will be your itinerary for the next week. As you already know, classes will not begin until next Monday. If I were you, I'd ensure that you know the route to school. For many of you this is your first time needed to take public transportation to school. There will be no tolerance for constant lateness. Now don't forget to apply for your student oyster cards okay? In your packets, you will find more information on doing this including the price." She paused as the presentation slide switched. "Now I will be going over the school policies." As she continued her lecture, I looked through the packet in front of me. There were brochures for many trips that were available with discounts from London Met. "Okay. Now here is a short video about the dangers of riding in unllicensed cabs." Another video started, giving me more time to review the paperwork. "So lastly, I wanted to remind you that tomorrow you will be receiving your school identification cards and then we will be going on a small cruise over the River Thames. We will be meeting here in front of the building at 11:00 AM. I will see you all tomorrow." I turned to Quinn who was staring at a brochure for cliff diving.

"So where should we go now?" Quinn asked joining the crowd of students that had stood up to leave.

"I-" A tap on my shoulder startled me. I turned to my side only to come face to face with blue eyes. "Brittany" I whispered.

"Did you miss me?" She asked playfully.

"Where did you two go yesterday?" Asked another voice who I could only recognize as Rachel. Quinn and I looked at each other and laughed.

"It's a long story." She replied still laughing.

'"Oh tell us everything!" Replied Brittany excitedly.

"We were going to head back to the dorms. Some of the other people on our floor were talking about drinking in the lounge later tonight" said Brittany. "You should come!"

"Sounds fun" replied Quinn. "You up for it San?"

I looked around a the hopeful face of Quinn and then to Brittany."Why not" I gave in causing a squeal from all three girls.

"We are going to have a blast"

The trip through the tube was pretty quick. It turns out that Rachel was pretty good with figuring out the tube system. In no time, we found ourselves in the Nido towers.

"Rachel is going to get some pasta for her and Brittany from the deli/restaurant down the street. I'm going to go with her, do you want to come?" i thought about it for a moment and decided that i would prefer to stay in and do some research. I shook my head at her. "Okay, what do you want?" Replied Quinn as we entered our room.

"Could you get me the pasta Bolognese?" I asked, "No cheese."

"You got it"

"Thanks Quinny" I said with an evil grin as I layed in my bed.

"Call me that again and you will find melted cheese in your pasta" she growled.

A few minutes had passed as I opened my macbook pro and logged onto facebook. I was posting a new status, when a knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

"Quinn, it's only been a -" I had started. I opened the door to find myself face to face with Brittany. She rose her eyebrows at me.

"Bad time?" She asked with a smirk.

"No- Not at all" I stuttered for a moment. "Come in"

"I hope you don't mind. Quinn mentioned that you were here before they left" she shrugged, "I thought you could use some company"

"Not at all." I replied surprised that she would take the few moments she had to herself to come and see me. "You're welcome anytime" I told her meaning every word. I don't know what it is about her, but she puts me at ease. She smiled at me before looking around.

"I see they gave you the blue sheets too?" She asked before sitting right next to me on my bed. "Aww who's this little guy?" She asked leaning over me to get a better view of my computer.

"That's my dog Tony" I answered. Out of everyone, I missed him the most right now.

"He's so cute" She said, "Do you miss him?" She asked.

"He's the only living thing to ever understand me" I told her, "Aside from Quinn of course" I joked.

"I hope I get to meet him one day" she said still leaning against me. My heart was racing and my entire body felt like it was on fire. To make it worse, i am pretty sure she could feelmy heart beating so fast. What the hell was happening to me? She was still looking at me, making it hard to not stare into her calming blue eyes. Blue was my favorite color after all, of course her eyes would be the perfect shade.

"I hope you do too." I replied still maintaining eye contact.

"So tell me about yourself Santana." She said breaking the eye contact to turn to my computer.

"What's there to tell?"

"Why did you chose London of all places in the middle of winter in the USA to study abroad?" She asked curiously.

"Some of the best literature came from England. I thought it would inspire me."

"So you like to read?" She asked me. Ha if only she knew.

"I love to read and write" I replied. "Mainly creative stories."

"Oh really? I need to read some of your stories soon then"

"Oh god no." I replied instantly. She smiled sweetly. "Anyway why did you choose London?"

"It was the only place that spoke English." She shrugged. "And Rachel was really excited about studying here." Brittany turned to my computer screen and stared. From the hesitant nature of her voice, something told me that wasn't the full story, but I didn't want to push. If Brittany wanted to tell me than she would have. I just wish she didn't look that upset.

"So what are two things you enjoy doing?" I asked attempting to change her train of thought.

"Hmm that's a tough one" she replied. She bit her lip as she continued to stare at my computer. "I love long walks on the beach and watching the sunset" she said playfully in a mocking tone.

"No really!" I laughed. This girl was beyond adorable. Just the way she sat there practically cuddled into my side holding onto one of the stuffed animals. She turned to me, laughter still present in her eyes.

"I enjoy outdoor activities, like hiking, water skiing, camping and kayaking." Oh no, I have a feeling cliff diving will be somewhere in my future on this trip. Between her and Quinn I will be in for a fun ride. "I love dancing." She said interrupting my thoughts.

"Really? For some reason I can see that" I laughed as my mind pictured her attempting to dance.

"You're totally picturing it right now aren't you" she laughed.

"Oh yeah. I have this picture of you just acing the macarena" we both burst out laughing.

Once our laughter started dying away she turned back to me, "So what's two things you enjoy?"

I thought for a moment, "See we are like total opposites." I replied, "Last time I went camping, I'm pretty sure I cried." She raised her eyebrows at me, "What? I am a bug magnet. Every bug tries to follow me. I once had a mosquito follow me home from an overnight trip with my 7th grade class." I replied earning a giggle. "Anyway me and the ocean do not mix. Do you know that sharks can attack you at the most shallow of waters?" I told her earning some more giggles. "Hey, this is no laughing matter."

"San you just gave me an entire list of goals." She laughed.

"Wait what?" I asked.

"Anyway you didn't tell me the two things."

"Oh right. I guess you know the first one is the reading and writing. Sometimes I even carry a notebook around in my back pocket. You never know when you will be inspired." I said. "Do those count as two?" I smirked.

"No!" She laughed smacking my arm.

"Fine" I laughed, "I would say-"

"I just don't understand!" shrieked a loud voice causing me to lose focus. Brittany and I looked at each other, "How can you order a bacon cheeseburger with then extra bacon on the side?"

"Listen Rachel, I enjoy bacon. It is one of the few processed meats that I cannot resist." replied the voice of Quinn. Suddenly the door opened. "Don't give me that look" We both stared at her for a moment before laughing, "Oh, Rachel they're both in here" she yelled out the door. "Look at you two all cozy." She laughed while arching an eyebrow.

"What can I say? Sanny is very comfortable to lean against." Joked Brittany as she leaned closer to prove her point.

"Sanny eh?" asked Quinn with an evil smirk. I know that look.

"Come on you two. Let's go eat and celebrate our first dinner together. One of many!" replied a cheerful Rachel from outside the room.

"Hurry up you two. My bacon is getting cold!" realized Quinn before she ran off to the kitchen.

"Did that just happen?" I asked.

"Oh yeah" laughed Brittany. I started to get up before I found myself being stopped. "Oh no you don't. You're not getting out of telling me your second thing." It surprised me how much she actually was interested in this.

I groaned slightly. Normally I would have pushed Quinn away if she did something like that and wouldn't have bothered to answer. For some reason, I would rather stay here talking to her about this instead of anyone else.

"Fine. I like music. One of my favorite past times is just laying on my bed listening to music."

She smiled at me and shook her head, "San, we really aren't that different." Brittany said. Before I could comment she said, "Now let's go. I'm starving!" With that, she jumped off the bed and held her hand out to me. She had this excited smile on her face and it was so contagious. I grabbed onto her hand and allowed her to help me up.

"About time"

"Shut it Quinn" I replied

"Bite me" she responded

"You can dream Quinny" I laughed before grabbing hold of the bag with the food.

"Oh fancy" said Brittany from behind. In her hands was a nice bottle of wine.

"That's how I do" replied Quinn earning a scoff from Rachel.

"I picked out the wine. If I left it up to this one, we would have all been drinking Hennessy tonight in the lounge."

"Classy Quinn" I snickered.

"What? It does the job" she shrugged. She picked up another piece of bacon and stared at it lovingly.

"How can you eat that stuff?" Rachel looked ready to vomit, "I mean don't you know how its made. I-"

"I swear to god Rachel, if you tell me how it's made, I will rub this bacon fat on you" interrupted Quinn causing me to snicker. Both continued to bicker, so I looked into the bag and grabbed both boxes of food. I handed them to Brittany's outstretched hand before grabbing a cup for Brittany and me. I grabbed bottled water and poured some water into the cup for both of us. Brittany had already set up my plate with the necessary utensils. We both sat across from each other and started to eat. I looked up when I realized Rachel and Quinn were quiet. Both were staring at us.

"What?" I asked

"Are you sure you two just met?" asked Quinn suspiciously.

"Uh yeah" I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. I looked away from Quinn and caught Brittany's eye. She winked slightly and I couldn't stop the smile that formed. None of us realized how much time had passed as we spent dinner mostly laughing at each other and getting to know one another. As loud as Rachel was she was really easy to talk to and could make you laugh quickly. She and Brittany compliment each other very well making it easy to see how they maintained their friendship for so many years. We were in the process of cleaning up when someone entered the kitchen.

"Rachel! Brittany!" Yelled a loud voice. We all turned to see the girl from the airport.

"Hey Mercedes!" Rachel was smiling brightly.

"Are you ready? Everyone is hading to the lounge in maybe 20 minutes You're still coming right." She asked before noticing us, "Oh hi there! We met at the airport right? Are you two coming too?" She asked. From the looks of it, Mercedes was dressed in a casual dark pair of jeans with a nice blouse. Before I could asess her outfit so i would have an idea of what i should be wearing, i found myself being grabbed by Quinn.

"Nice seeing you again Mercedes! Just give us 10 minutes and we will be ready!" Replied Quinn quickly before she pulled me towards the door, "Great meet us here in 15 minutes" yelled Mercedes. Before I could even search for Brittany or Rachel, I was dragged to our dorm.

"What gives Quinn?" I asked annoyed at our abrupt departure. "The party is in the lounge" Quinn glared at me causing me to shut up.

"You and I both know that parties usually turn into pre-games. Do you want the fiasco of last year to happen again?" I thought back to last year where I almost ended up going to a bar in sweats after a small sleepover at our friends turned into a drunk night out. "Exactly. Now I need to get both of us ready!" She practically yelled as she pushed me towards the bathroom, "Makeup now" Before I could protest, she was already in my closet searching.

We dressed in record time and managed to make it to the lounge in just a little over 25 minutes.

In the top floor of the lounge stood maybe 20 people, some of whom i recognized from the orientation this morning.

"Awesome! You made it!" screeched Racel. In her hand was a glass of red wine. "Go grab some wine!" She pointed to a table that was now full of jackets and cups that surrounded two bottles of wine, a Jack Daniels Whiskey Bottle and Vodka. "Come lets get you to my level!" She placed two cups in our hands and pointed to the bottles. Before I could speak, Quinn opened the Rose wine and poured some into my cup. "Cheers to my new mates!" She yelled causing a bunch of yells in return. Everyone looked around our age and maybe 3 cups into their night. As big as the lounge was, most of us occupied the top section causing it be a tight fit, which was making it hotter by the second. I had lost Quinn somewhere in the crowd, but was actually hoping to spot Brittany. After a few more minutes of looked, I took another sip of my wine and joined Quinn who was chatting with Mercedes and another person. He was wearing many different colors and sported the skinniest jeans I have ever seen.

"There you are San! This is Kirk" slurred Quinn. I looked at Quinns cup and saw that she was now drinking a dark drink.

"Hi there!" He yelled. I smiled politely at him.

"Its actually Kurt! But you were close this time!" giggled Mercedes causing Quinn and Kurt to giggle with her.

"Are you drinking Whiskey?" I asked curiously as I noticed all three of them sported a similar drink.

"Yes. Try some!" She replied happily handing me her cup. I took a sip and was surprised when i realized it was straight whiskey. Unlucky for me I had just taken a gulp of it. I started coughing immediately earning multiple giggles. As I struggled to regain my compsoure, I felt a hand pinch my side. I wiped the tears from my eyes and turned to see Brittany standing there with a smile on her face.

"Hey" I replied with a slight cough.

"I think you could use this more than me" She handed me a bottle of water. I smiled gratefully and took a sip of water.

Instantly my throat felt some relief, "Thank you" I drank some more water earning a small smile from Brittany, "How are you enjoying the first party?" I asked.

She shrugged, "Definitely enjoying it a lot more now." She answered with a slight wink causing me to cough again on the water I had started drinking. She tapped my back softly. Did she just wink? I am definitely seeing things.

"You okay there?" She asked with a look of concern on her face.

"Yeah. I'm great." i answered back. People had started to sway to some of the music playing.

"Good." She then grabbed my hand, "Now lets find us a drink that wont make us want to vomit!" she laughed. I followed her and noticed that she had also changed her outfit. She was wearing a pair of dark torn blue jeans that hugged her slim legs perfectly and a brownish pair of short boots with a slight heel. I looked up see the rest of her outfit and then realized that she was watching me carefully. I hadnt realized that we had stopped walking or that she had managed to make us drinks.

With a playful grin on her face she asked, "Like what you see?" I could feel my face burning with embarrasment which made her laugh. She winked playfully and handed me a drink.

Hoping to change the subject, I stared at my drink and rose an eyebrow.

"What exactly is in this Ms. Pierce?" The liquid was a light yellowish color with an orange peel sticking it out of it. I hadn't seen her make this drink and that was one of the things we were warned about.

"You will just have to find out" She laughed as she tooka swig of her own similar glass. Noticing my hesitation, "Do you trust me?" Her face looked so genuine, i really couldn't will myself to not.

I stared at her and brought the drink to my lips and took a sip. Maybe I was imagining the glow in her as I did so. What is going on with me?

"Lets go party!" yelled Rachel and Mercedes causing a bunch of yells in agreement.

The smile on Brittanys face grew even more at this.

What have I gotten myself into?

Authors Note: Sorry the chapter took so long. What do you think?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, nor am I making any money from this story.

 _Authors Note: Sorry for the delay._

Chapter 3: We're Just Getting Started

The next day we found ourselves sitting on the ferry wondering whose idea it was to place a bunch of college students on an outdoor ferry in 40-degree weather with strong wind. Quinn, Rachel, Brittany and I had been inseparable all day and were currently huddling close to one another to stay warm.

"To the right you will see the London Eye, which all of you will have the chance to ride in a few months for free!" said the tour guide excitedly. It was nice of the school to hire a private company to give us a tour of the River Thames, but I wish the boat had at least an indoor area or maybe some heat.

"Look! The London Bridge!" Cried Rachel as she walked over a few feet to the edge of the boat with her Iphone safely holstered onto her Selfie Stick.

"Ugh Rachel, not too loud" shrieked Quinn.

"What's wrong Quinn? Too much Whiskey?" I replied allowing my voice to grow louder each word.

"San! Inside voices please" She answered causing me to snicker.

"I'm pretty sure we are outdoors" I smirked, "Plus, if I used your inside voice last night, I'm pretty sure it would sound something like this!" I replied practically yelling.

"Oh god, please tell me I didn't." She groaned.

"I didn't think she was that loud," replied Rachel causing Brittany and I to practically combust with laughter. My thoughts instantly went back to last night. We ended up at a nearby bar. There were maybe 10 occupants inside when we arrived and I'm pretty sure by the end of the night we had started a full-blown party. At first the occupants seemed a bit wary of us since most of the group was quite loud and for the most part wasted. At one point I heard Rachel's loud laugh and then her screaming "that's right we are New Yorkers in the house!" I'm pretty sure half of Kings Cross heard her scream when the song, "New York" from Alicia Keys came on. Interesting enough, that's when the party started. I found myself being pulled with Brittany and Quinn to the new makeshift dance floor.

"Okay everyone, we will be docking soon. Please remember that classes will begin on Monday. Do not forget your IDs as you will need them to get into the Uni. Also please remember to apply for your Student Oyster card as soon as possible. Once docked, you are free to explore London."

"Wait, are they stranding us here?" asked a baffled Quinn. "How rude!"

"Do any of you remember what tube station is close by?" Asked Brittany, opening her map app on her Iphone. Her eyebrows were scrunched and she was biting the inside of her cheek.

"Britt, put the map away!" Laughed Rachel, "Ladies! This is an awesome opportunity! We are in the center of London! Let's go explore. I am so ready to let loose and party!" Replied an excited Rachel.

"What was last night considered?" I asked. "How can such a tiny person hold so much liquor." Rachel glared at me, while Quinn and Britt snickered, "Oh, I said that out loud didn't I?" Rachel turned to the others.

"We are in another country! Let's live a little." Quinn nodded at her, while Britt put her phone away. She does have a good point. I came here to loosen up and find myself. How can I do this if I'm still acting like my parents will be driving by any moment and catch me having fun? I honestly wouldn't put it past them to find their way to London just to watch me. For a moment I caught myself looking over Rachel's shoulder to make sure they weren't here in some speedboat watching me. I could practically see my mom's famous expression of disapproval already. If it were up to my parents, I wouldn't be here.

I could feel all their eyes on me. Was I already getting the reputation I came here to get rid of? I may have left my family, but they haven't left me. "You're right." I finally said. "Let's do this!"

"Awesome!"

"Alright!"

"Sweet!"

The boat docked apparently at a dock near Westminster Station. Instead of taking the tube right away we decided to walk around the area, passing the Parliament building and other historical areas.

"A quick fact, Big Ben is actually the large bell inside the clock tower. The real name is Elizabeth Tower." Said an excited Rachel. Brittany really wasn't kidding when she said that Rachel loves London. We continued walking until we found a spot to eat at. Luckily we ran into a KFC and managed to appease almost everyone.

"What do you mean there's no mashed potatoes!" Cried Rachel. "That's all I can eat! It's bad enough they are killing beautiful animals, but now you don't sell mashed potatoes." After some calming down by Brittany, Quinn and I, we managed to find a spot that sold falafels to appease Rachel. All in all, this night was turning out to be pretty fun.

"This seems like a fun spot" said Brittany. She was pointing to a small club across the street. "Come on!" She pushed us forward toward the club in a hurry. Luckily, it wasn't too crowded as it was only 20:15. We made our way through the maze of occupied seats to the back where there were more tables. We ended up sitting at a round table with 4 seats. Quinn was to my left, with Rachel on the other side, leaving Brittany directly across from me. I watched as she studied the menu, her eyebrows creased in concentration like earlier. At one point, she started biting her lip and I couldn't tear my eyes away.

"Earth to San." Said a voice practically screaming in my ear. A hand was waving in front of my face causing me to jump a little. "You there?" Quinn was watching me with a quizzical look on her face.

"Yeah sorry. What is it?" I asked trying not to meet the blue eyes that I could feel staring at me. My face was burning slightly and I was praying that no one said anything.

"Do you know what you want yet?" Asked Quinn.

"Umm" I hesitated as I opened my menu and started to read through it.

"I'm not that hungry" I replied. I knew I couldn't finish anything that quick and then I'd have to deal with Quinn's questions.

"San do you want to share the fries?" Asks Brittany. "I'm not really that hungry after the falafel and don't think I'll be able to finish them on my own." I look up from the menu and my eyes meet hers. I nodded gratefully before putting the menu down.

"Sounds good to me!" I replied, unsure of why my heart was now racing.

"Awesome" replied Brittany.

"Perfect!" Quinn turned to the waitress, whom I hadn't even noticed there. "So a large fries for these two." She told her as she pointed at us. "And a round of whiskey shots to start us off"

Hours later, the place had managed to turn into a club; literally. Tables had been moved to the wall with chairs stacked on top of them in a neat pile to reveal the wooden dance floor. A hidden disco ball was unveiled and soon the party was in full swing. Our table was full of empty shot glasses and plates of half eaten food.

"I swear they can make any song into a dance song." Laughed Quinn as yet another song with the same beat started.

"Well there is a DJ" I laughed pointing to the figure farthest to the right.

I watched as Brittany's head bobbed to the beat. A new song came on and immediately Brittany's eyes widened and she stood up quickly.

"Uh oh. This is Britt's song!" yelled Rachel. Before I could even hesitate, hands grabbed mine and I was suddenly on my feet being pulled onto the now crowded dance floor. I've only heard this song a handful of times, I mean the beat was hard to miss. Britt let go of my hands and starts to move perfectly in sync with the beat.

"This right here's my type of party" she mouths, her eyes were closed as she enjoyed the sound. You could barely hear her as the crowd yells, "Woo-oooh-ohh." Normally, I'm a terrible dancer, but the crowd and Britt's enthusiasm is contagious. My hips move to the beat. The beat gets faster and the entire crowd starts to jump. Somehow, I managed to keep up with the beat and couldn't pull my eyes off of Britt. In a matter of days, she's managed to confuse me completely. I've never found myself so drawn to someone in my life. Even now all I wanted to do was stay out of my comfort zone just so I could spend some time with her as she thrived in her element. After what felt like hours, Quinn and Rachel joined us. Rachel joined Brittany and both were singing the lyrics, "Five more hours, we're just getting' started!" Quinn stands beside me and hands me another shot. I smiled appreciatively and gulped the whiskey down before continuing to dance with them. I could feel my body becoming less stiff and I even started getting more into the beat. Suddenly all of us are holding hands jumping while Rachel screams the lyrics loudly. We spent the rest of the night dancing, laughing and just enjoying each other's company.

Authors Note: Thanks for the wait. Sorry for the shortness of the chapter. It just seemed like the best place to leave off. What did you think?Song in Club: Chris Brown and Deorro "Five Hours"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: It's Time to Begin

The weekend passed by with us preparing for class and nursing some hangovers. Surprising enough, my hangover wasn't nearly as bad as Quinn and Rachel's. Most of the weekend, Britt and I ended up having to cook them breakfast as both looked ready to pass out.

This morning was no different than it would be back in the US. Quinn had already left about 30 minutes ago, to her first class, while I attempted to get a few more minutes of sleep. Unfortunately for me, I found myself staring at the ceiling failing miserably. With a sigh, I jumped out of bed and took a quick shower and got dressed before taking the coffee machine and a pot with me to cook breakfast.

I entered the kitchen and found it empty. Smiling at my luck, I ran forward and placed my coffee pot on the counter before walking to my storage locker to retrieve our Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee. After getting the coffee started, I placed my pot on the stove and proceeded to make an egg sandwich. Just as I finished pouring myself a cup of coffee and laying out my sandwich, I heard the kitchen door open.

"Fancy seeing you here San" said the sweet voice of Britt. She walked over to her storage locker and grabbed her own supplies, including her dishes.

"Morning Britt" I replied with a smile. "Clearly you are stalking me" I joked playfully. I could feel my cheeks reddening and tried to ignore them.

"In your sweetest dreams, Ms. Lopez" She winked before walking past me to put her pot on the stove. "Are you going to finish that?" She asked pointing to the coffee.

I smiled, "All yours"

"Yes!" She cheered, "You are a life saver. Rachel only drinks tea" she laughed as she ran over to her locker to grab a mug.

"You're kidding? She is that excitable without coffee?"

"Yes." she laughed.

"Interesting."

"Don't you dare give her any coffee" She said sternly as she pointed her spatula at me. Her blue eyes glistened playfully and I found myself wishing I could see her like this more often.

I raised my hands in surrender before grabbing my sandwich and taking a bite.

"What time is your class today?" I asked her after a few minutes.

"11:00, what about yours?"

"Same" I laughed. "You're not also taking Modern Literature, are you?"

She laughed and shook her head as she finished taking a sip of her coffee and placing her food across from me.

"What's your major?" I asked curiously. She was placing all her dishes in the sink next to mine.

"Biology with a minor in mathematical science" I blinked at her before laughing lightly. I stood up to put my plate in the sink, while she turned towards me and raised her eyebrow.

"So basically, your majors are my two worst subjects" I joked. "You would be good at math." I smiled before elbowing her lightly. "Do you want to be a doctor?" I went back to my seat and hugged my hot mug.

She shook her head, "A veterinarian."

"I can see that." I smiled. Thoughts of Brittany wearing a white jacket as she cared for different types of animals made me smile; it fit so well.

"Thanks San." Was it my imagination or did Britt's cheeks turn a tiny hint of red? Our conversation continued until we both ran back to our rooms to get our belongings.

"What time does your class end?" She asked as we boarded the train. It still amazes me how clean London trains are in comparison to the New York City subway.

"11:45" I replied staring at my phone. I had taken a picture of my schedule so I wouldn't forget.

"Me too." She answered, "I have another class though at 1."

"Oh, that bites. After this class, I'm free for the day." Our train stopped and I knew we only had one more left before our stop. This was by far one of the best mornings I've had and didn't want it to end. I liked how we could talk literally about anything and not get bored. I played with my phone in my fingertips and I tried to think of ways to prolong my time with Britt.

"Lucky." She answered. Our eyes met again briefly and this time I felt fingers slide over mine. My heartbeat increased so fast, that I thought I would need to gasp for air. To my disappointment and relief, her fingers only touched mine for a brief moment before they were gone as well as my phone, "I figured we should probably exchange phone numbers if we want to keep hanging out. As much as I enjoy randomly running into you, maybe we could actually make plans to hangout?" I could feel my cheeks burning red.

"Yeah. That works for me" I managed to reply.

Our train stopped and we both exited. The school directly across the street, taking up almost two entire blocks.

"Do you see that?" Asked Britt. We were crossing the street when she pointed at something behind the school.  
"Is that a stadium?" We walked past the school's library until we could see the stadium in the clearing. How had I not noticed that last week?

"Emirates Stadium." Britt read. I stared at it in wonder. It was beautiful. "One of these days we should get a better look at it." She said, "But right now if we don't hurry we will be late to our first class." Luckily for me, my class was on the first floor, Britt on the other hand had to go in the opposite direction of me and onto the 2nd floor. This place was huge and had the most confusing organization of floors. There were different areas as the school had a courtyard in the middle with many buildings attached to it, so even if you were on the first floor, you might be on the first floor past the courtyard, in a completely different building. Some of the buildings were taller and there was even a tunnel I could see in the distance that connected to the library area.

Back in New York, the first class is always cut short by at least half. It's usually just an introduction to the class where the professor talks about his or her expectations. Unfortunately, here the professor gives you the syllabus that includes every single assignment and due date in advance prior to the first class. So, today's class, would be a full lesson. While the professor took roll call, I pulled my phone out. I opened a new text message and typed in Britt's name. She pretty much gave me the all clear to message her, right? I typed a quick, simple message and then erased it.

"Santana Lopez." A voice interrupted my thoughts. My cheeks turned red. Crap did I get caught texting on my first day? I looked up at hearing my name. i noticed the teacher looking around and realized she had called my name on the roll call. Quickly i rose my hand.

"Ah, there you are." She checked off my name before continuing. I looked back at my phone and then typed a different message. With a deep breath, I clicked send. Why was this so difficult? It's just Britt. I never had this type of trouble texting or even calling Quinn… ever. I've only experienced this once before and I wasn't in the mood to think about how that turned out. Beofre my thoughts could turn dark, my phone vibrated.

' _Hey San! To think, I thought I'd never get your number_.' I could practically see her blue eyes shining playfully as I read her response. Before I could reply another one came in. " _I hope your class is going better than mine. I have a feeling he's going to keep us late._ "

 _'I don't think mine is any better.'_ I looked back at the professor who was stumbling over someones name. _  
_

 _'My professor is setting his watch timer. He said he tends to go over_ ' I had to stop myself from laughing at her text loudly.

 _'lol. You win.'_

 _'Yes!'_ She texted. I shook my head as I pictured her fist pumping the air. ' _okay. San I'll text you after class. I think my professors watching me_ '

 _'ttyl Britt'_

My class droned on and I partially listened. It's not that I didn't find it interesting, I just had way too much on my mind. Why did Britt affect me so much? Part of me knew the answer, but I refused to believe it. This couldn't be happening…not again. Who knows, maybe I am just overthinking this. I should talk to Quinn, after all she knows me best. I stared at the front of the classroom and tried to listen to the professor.

"Alright class. I will see you all on Wednesday. Make sure you read your syllabus so you know how many chapters to read by then. Also, could all of my abroad students stay behind?" The class started emptying and I found myself surrounded by 3 other students.

"Hello there. I hope you are all enjoying your stay in London." She smiled at all of us politely. I looked around and recognized one of the guys. He lived on the same floor as me, I think his named was Blaine. "So, I have been told all of you are American. I know some of our writing may be different than what you are used to as well as some of the spelling of words. Don't worry about trying to alter your writing in my classroom, your work will not be graded on your spelling. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to email me or stop me after class." With that she ended her speech and we all nodded. I felt my phone vibrating and tried to ignore it. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she allowed us to leave. As soon as I was out the door, I grabbed my phone and saw a few texts.

' _Hey San. Are you out yet?'_ asked Britt. Her second text was sent maybe a minute later.

' _If you are, I'm starving. Want to grab lunch?'_

I immediately responded, _'Yes. Where are you?'_

After a lot of confusion, Britt and I finally found the cafeteria and each other. The cafeteria was closer to me than her so I managed to find it quicker. We only lost 15 minutes searching.

We both ended up grabbing some burgers from the cafeteria and somehow found a spot to eat in the crowded area.

"So how was your first class?" She asked.

"Oh man. It's only been a day and already I feel behind." I replied causing her to laugh, "Apparently, 3 kids in my class already have every book needed for the semester and have already started reading the first book. Lucky for me, all my books are available in the library. So, looks like my next stop will be the library." I laughed before taking another bite of my burger. "What about you?" I asked

"This class won't be as bad for me. My class is mostly exams, so if I study my textbook, I'll be ok. I just hope he doesn't talk that much during the next few classes."

"What class is it?"

"Advanced Statistics" She answered, "I have a mostly gen-eds that I need to take. I made sure to complete most of my major classes in the last 2 and half years."

"Advanced Statistics is a gen-ed to you?" I asked nearly choking on my food.

"As long as my school accepts it, I'm more than fine with it being a gen-ed." She shrugged laughing at my reaction. My phone vibrated on the table, interrupting us.

"Oh, it's Quinn. I haven't heard from her all day" I unlocked the phone and opened her text.

' _Where are you?'_

"Sheesh. She's always straight to the point" I laughed showing Britt the text.

 _'In the cafeteria. You?'_

 _'Stuck in class. Hopefully will be home by 5. Don't get too lonely'_ She texted back.

" _Psh, me lonely_." I scoffed out loud causing Britt to look over at me.

" _What_?" She asked. I showed her Quinn's text. She laughed before grabbing my phone. Suddenly before I could even blink, she's leaning next to me and saying "smile San!" I complied "There" She laughed again as she handed me my phone back after typing a quick text.

A little over an hour later, I found myself in the library. Britt and I had parted ways so she could go to class maybe 40 minutes ago. I had gathered most of the books I needed already and had checked them out. Now I sat in the library staring at that photo she had taken of us. We were both laughing, next to us you could see my half-eaten burger in the background. Britt had this mischievous smile on her face while I just had the cheesiest grin on mine. Our faces were slightly touching and I could still feel my face tingling where hers touched mine.

Quinn's reply had both of us laughing for the rest of the lunch. After she accused me of cheating on her, then sending a photo of her giving us the middle finger, sadly she had to let us go so she could pay attention.

So here I was, wondering If I should text Britt. We spent practically half the day together as it was. Maybe that was enough already. Who was I kidding? I could spend all day with her and be more than content. She had this special energy that I felt myself getting more addicted to every day. Taking a deep breath, I opened our prior texts.

Quickly I typed, ' _hope this professor is less talkative_ " and sent it. I held my breath as I felt my phone vibrate back,

' _Yeah I like her better_.' She answered, _'how's the library_?'

'Oh, that's good. _And so far, so good for me. I found almost everything I needed. I'm getting ready to leave'_

'P _erfect timing. If you give me 5 minutes, we could probably head home_ together.' I couldn't stop the large grin that had formed.

' _sounds good. Where should I meet you_?'

' _train. I'll be there_ _soon_ '

With my hands full of books, I hurried over to the train to wait for her. She came into view a few minutes later.

"Wow you weren't kidding when you said you had a lot of books" She laughed. I must have looked crazy right now, with my bag and hands full of books. She shook her head at me before grabbing the 3 stacked books and placing them in her purse. "Remind me that I have your books." She said before pulling me along to the turnstiles. As she looked for her Oyster card, i couldn't help but stare at her. Even after a full day of school, she still managed to look beautiful. I shook my head and tried to force my thoughts to change, but tit wasn't working. Nothing could stop the large smile that formed on my face as she triumphantly held her Oyster Card and cheered 'Aha!' before walking through. "Come on San". Britt's happiness was contagious, actually no, it was more like her personality was contagious.

I shook my head at her and followed.

 _Author's Note: I felt like writing some fluff. The next chapter will have more Quinn and Rachel, I promise. I just wanted to build their relationship a little more. Let me know what you think._


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews and encouragement! I will warn you the below chapter is long and does contain some drama. Everyone has a past right?

Chapter 5: Long Road Ahead

A little over 2 weeks had gone by and already I had a routine. Monday and Wednesdays, I would spend most days with Britt as Rachel and Quinn had classes at a different campus, they would eventually join us at home and we all would eat dinner together. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had most of my classes with an extra 2 hour long one on Thursdays. On Tuesdays, after class I would spend whatever time I could with Quinn catching up, facetiming friends and family. On Fridays, I didn't have any classes so I'd sleep in and then spend some time catching up on readings for classes with Rachel in the recreational/ cafeteria area of the towers. Rachel was slowly growing on me and I found myself even enjoying her company. Eventually, Quinn and Brittany would join us. We almost always ended up drinking some sort of alcohol, playing pool or Foosball before deciding to head out and explore London. Usually afterward, we would end up at a bar.

"Hey Santana" said Rachel. Her body was no longer outstretched on her long lounge chair as she snapped her fingers at me.

"What is it Berry?" I asked annoyed. She always seemed to interrupt me when I was having good thoughts.

"Britt's on the phone." Replied Rachel as she handed the phone to me. At the sound of Britt's name, my heart raced. I reached over and grabbed the phone from her quickly.

"Hey Britt. What's going on?" I asked.

"San! How's studying going?" She asked.

"Eh. I think I read 4 pages" I answered causing her to giggle.

"I swear for an English major, you don't seem to like to read. Aren't you supposed to like reading?" She asked.

"Hey, hand me an interesting book and I'll be more than happy to read it." I laughed. I could see Rachel watching me, "So what's up Britt?" I asked.

"Oh, right. I was stopping by Tesco on the way home. What do we need? Do we need any eggs? I think I ate most of your eggs this past week after I finished mine. Also, I saw we were running low on coffee too. Also I was thinking of picking up that wine we liked too." She replied all in one breath.

"Whoa slow down Britt." I laughed. I could practically hear her breathing, "You know you don't have to buy me any of those things. You know I don't mind sharing those items Britt."

"San, you don't just share those things with me. We practically use all of the same ingredients anyway. Why buy two of each, when we could split it. I'm sure Quinn would agree." She answered. Her logic made sense. I could feel this bubble of excitement at the prospect of us actually agreeing to share our items. "Umm San, you there?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry was just remembering what we need. We are good with coffee. Quinn's sister works at Starbucks and actually gave us three of those bags. If we run low, I'm sure she can send more. As for eggs, I think Quinn ate the last one this morning. Wine sounds great." I said.

"Okay great. See you in a few San." She answered.

"Don't forget my tea Britt!" yelled Rachel as she heard me saying bye. Rachel watched me curiously as I handed her back the phone.

"Yes?" I asked as she kept staring. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No" She shrugged as she turned away and drank some of her tea. With a sigh, I put my book down and turned to her.

"Okay what is it?" I asked.

"Nothing Santana." She answered with a smirk.

"You and Quinn spend way too much time together." I sighed, recognizing Quinn's trademark smirk.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Laughed Rachel. She turned back to her textbook before I turned back to my own book. I tried to focus, but once again couldn't get myself to concentrate. I went to put my book down when a bag flew onto my outstretched legs.

"Seriously Quinn." I said annoyed, rolling my eyes. She pushed Rachel's legs off her lounge chair and sat down.

"Really Quinn? I was comfortable" Scoffed Rachel. Quinn looked at both of us with a grin on her face as she shrugged. Her blonde hair looked windblown as if she ran to us.

"Where's Britt?" She asked hurriedly.

"She stopped at Tesco. She should be here soon" I replied.

"Okay good. I have some serious things to discuss." Said Quinn. Her voice was filled with excitement and she had a glint in her eye. I gulped nervously and had a feeling that I wouldn't like whatever was exciting her. Last time, I saw that look in her eyes, she, our old best friend Dani and myself were waiting on line to ride the Nitro in Six Flags. I had only agreed to wait in the line with them as I was too afraid to ride the roller coaster with them. As soon as the rides doors opened and the old group left, Dani walked in front of me leading to a seat. As I tried to go around her to go to the waiting area near the shelves, she blocked my way, while Quinn pulled me into the seat and fasted the safety bar before I could make a scene or freak out. I just remember Dani telling me not to worry and placing her hand on mine. I actually had fun during the ride, Dani had never ridden it before and screamed her head off, which made Quinn and I laugh the entire ride.

The feeling of my legs being gently pushed slightly snapped me back to reality. I looked up to see Britt taking a seat at the end of my chair next to my legs. Our eyes locked and I smiled at her before moving my legs, giving her more room to sit next to me. She smiled appreciatively.

"Hey San" She said, "The groceries are upstairs." I nodded at her, "I hope I didn't interrupt any good memories." She laughed. How does she always know when I'm deep in thought? Quinn sometimes can't even tell. "oh before i forget. i know you like these" She pulled out a bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs and placed them on my lap.

"Thanks Britt!" I said happily. I wanted to pull her into a hug, but felt as if I was glued to my side of the lounge chair. Why was this so hard for me? I never had trouble hugging Quinn. Instead I just opted for smiling at her.

"Finally!" Quinn said as she came running back towards us. Where the hell did she go?

"What did I miss?" Asked Britt.

"Nothing yet. Quinn's just being impatient" replied Rachel who was still reading her magazine. "How was class?" She asked Britt.

"Do you guys want to hear my news or not?" She asked annoyed.

"Well I don't see any guys here Quinn." Replied Rachel with a smirk.

"I second Rachel" I answered, "Quinn I still think you need to get your eyes checked or if you want we can take out those diagrams from 7th grade. I think Ms. Pillsberry still has them. He might still have the video too" I answered making Rachel and Britt giggle.

"Oh god, please don't. Never again" shivered Quinn, "so much hair"

"Oh my god, I need to see this video" laughed Rachel.

"No- you- don't" answered Quinn seriously as she glared at me. "Fine smart ass, I guess you don't want to hear the news."

"Awe come on Quinn. They were just kidding…Right Rachel…" Britt laughed as she turned to Rachel. Then she looked at me, "Right San" I couldn't stop myself from saying yes to her pout.

"Fine. What is it Quinn" I asked

I was half expecting her to put up a fight, but I clearly underestimated her excitement.

"What do you girls think of us going on our first real weekend trip together?" She asked. Everyone sat up straighter as she handed each of us pamphlets. They looked oddly familiar and immediately I felt my stomach fall when I read through it. This was the same adventure we were told about during orientation.

"This looks like so much fun!" squealed Rachel. I looked through the pamphlet and saw the list of activities. It was a two-night trip that included activities like kayaking, surfing, hiking, coasteering and then eventually jumping off cliffs into a beautiful lagoon. "I'm in" said Rachel enthusiastically.

"Me too" said Britt. At this I felt my stomach really tighten. I was the only one left and I desperately tried not to make eye contact with any of them, especially Britt.

"What about you San?" Asked Quinn. I gulped loudly and stared at the paper. This would involve activities in the open ocean. Of all of the places, the ocean? Finally, I relented and looked at all the hopeful eyes, specifically the blue ones next to mine.

"Do you even know what Coasteering is?" I finally asked.

"Is that a yes?" Asked Quinn who was clearly trying to contain her excitement. I looked at Quinn who looked so excited.

"Fine."

"Yes!" I was engulfed by three different hugs all at once and nearly fell of the chair.

"Really guys?" I asked playfully glaring. The last to pull away was Britt and I reluctantly I fought the urge to hold onto her.

"So when would we go?" asked Rachel after we looked through the activities in more detail.

"There's a date coming up that's only for London Met students. There's even a discount for booking that date on top of the student discount" she said happily.

"Great when?"

"Last week of February" answered Quinn.

"That's next weekend!" I answered quickly. "We are going to freeze"

"Stop being dramatic San. That's Rachel's job" scoffed Quinn

"Hey!"

"How much is it?" I asked ignoring Rachel.

"150 pounds" replied Quinn.

"Wow really?" I asked, "I thought it would be more." I said more to myself.

"So when do we book it?" asked Britt. An hour later we were all in front of our laptops in mine and Quinn's room. Rachel was at my desk, while Quinn lay on her bed. Britt and me were both sitting on my bed comfortably.

"Done" I replied after booking the tickets and apparently the train tickets there.

"Awesome! Everyone else?" Asked Quinn.

"Done"

"Done"

"Oh my god. I can't believe we are going to Wales!" yelled Rachel.

"I never considered going to Wales ever, so me too!" Replied Quinn just as loud.

"How did we get stuck with the loudest best friends?" I turned and asked Britt.

"I don't know. Rotten luck I guess?" she shrugged.

"Bitch I heard that" answered Quinn.

"You love us" sang Rachel.

Britt and I made eye contact for a moment. She had a glint in her eyes and before I could say anything, a pillow was hitting Rachel in the face.

"Ugh" She yelped. "Hey" Rachel jumped towards both of us.

"Rach! You're squishing me" Britt yelped. Suddenly Quinn joined and had Britt and I sandwiched. My body tensed and felt myself panicking slightly. Before I could, I felt a hand touch mine, snapping me back to reality.

"I am so going to make you pay for that one Britt" giggled Rachel. Quinn's hands were currently clutching a pillow that looked ready to hit me. Just as the pillow made contact with me, I saw Britt's hand laying close to mine. I felt lighter and even laughed as Quinn hit me again. I couldn't picture a better way to spend my night.

~.~

Hours later, we found ourselves wandering through Kings Cross Station.

"Are you sure the wall is this way?" laughed Quinn.

"The map says it's a few gates away." I answered back.

"Why do we ever let you two try to lead?" Asked Rachel as she took the map away from Quinn.

"Hey! I told you both I had no sense of direction" I giggled, "Plus you're the one who said it would be a great idea to drink 2 cups of wine before leaving"

"Give that back!" said Quinn as she tried to take her map back, which prompted a small slap fight between the two. I turned to Britt who seemed extra quiet.

"Hi" I said to her trying to get her attention.

"Hey San" She laughed as I walked next to her.

"Pence for your thoughts?" I asked.

"I think my thoughts are worth more than a pence" she laughed before linking our arms together. I tried to focus on walking straight hoping to not trip or worse make Britt trip.

"Well if you'd like to barter- ugh" Britt luckily was still holding onto me as I tried not to fall. She had an amused expression on her face.

"You're so graceful San" She was watching me carefully with a look in her eyes that I couldn't quite place.

"Britt, I have the grace of a panther" I scoffed.

"Yea San, more like a fish" laughed Quinn from the front.

"Listen here bubble butt." I scoffed.

"San!"

"Quinn" I answered with a smirk, "Do you feel lucky like a four-leaf clover?" Quinn stopped and immediately I let go of Britt's arm before running.

"I'm going to kill you San!" I giggled as Quinn chased me around.

"When I look into your eyes, it's over" I continued to sing as I ran away from Quinn. "

"Oh my god we need to get them drunk more often" laughed Rachel. "Why do I feel like we are missing something?"

"It's San and Quinn. I'm pretty sure we did" Laughed Britt.

"Look!"

Finally, we stood in front of a very fake wall.

"Wow, I thought it would be taller" said Quinn.

"I thought it would be made of actual brick" I answered.

"Oh my god you too we are finally at platform 9 and ¾!" squealed Rachel as Quinn rushed to the wall. "Quinn! That carts glued in! Seriously its not going to come out. Quinn!" Britt stood there snapping photos and videos before I managed to get her to join in. I managed to snap a few photos myself, even catching all four of us with the platform in the background. Out of all four of us, Britt was the only one who wasn't Harry Potter crazed. She enjoyed the movies, but never read the books or cared to. Quinn was still a new fan and was considering reading the books for more in depth details. Rachel and I on the other hand...

"Santana you need to re-read! Dobby works at Hogwarts until the very end of the books before his death!" We were sitting at a bench near the wall.

"Now who needs to read? Dobby was there until Dumbledore's death. Aberforth pretty much says so in the last book!" I replied instantly. This girl was testing my patience.

"It doesn't-"

"Enough you two!" interrupted Quinn, "You can both re-read and then call it a draw later" she laughed causing us both to glare at her.

"I agree with Quinn. You both are Harry Potter experts, trust me we know you are."

"What the sweeter blonde next to me is try to say, we get it. Your 'who's a bigger nerd' contest is pointless. We know you are both huge nerds." Britt nearly choked on her wine as she tried not to laugh. Rachel and I glared at each other before relenting. "Good, now let's go play some pong"

~.~

I'm still not sure how we all ended up here. After we played the most humiliating and shameful rounds of pong ever seen, Mercedes ran into us and invited us out to a club with her, Blaine, Kurt and a few other students. All the girls looked too excited to pass up the opportunity to go out with the rest of the group. So here I stood, sipping on my favorite dark rum and coke with extra cherries watching all my friends dance. Next to me stood Blaine, he too seemed to have a lot on his mind as he finished off his second whiskey shot.

"Why aren't you dancing?" He asked after ordering another shot.

"I'm not sure" I replied as I watched. Originally, I started off dancing with all the girls, but then I had gone to the bathroom. When I returned, somehow a group of guys had managed to find their way into the group. Rachel had managed to politely move away from the guy that was trying to dance with her and instead found herself dancing with Mercedes, but Quinn and Brittany seemed fine dancing to the fast-paced music. I knew I should join them, but my feet seemed planted firmly on the ground in front of the bar and I just couldn't move. I didn't want to experience the feeling of her choose to dance with someone else over me. I knew I was being irrational, but I couldn't help this. "Why aren't you?" I finally asked him. He had just finished having the bartender pour a few drinks before turning to me. He held an extra shot out to me and had pushed a short glass similar to his chaser towards me. I grabbed the shot from him and mouthed thanks.

"I don't know." He answered. "Cheers Mate!" He said holding his shot up. I laughed at his terrible accent and mimicked his stance. He was the first to finish his drink before taking a long sip of his chaser. The whiskey practically burned as it went down my throat. Immediately, I grabbed the glass in front of me and took a long sip. Surprising enough, the burning stopped and the whiskey went down smoothly. Oddly enough though, I couldn't quite place what I just drank.

"Okay, what is this stuff?" I asked him.

He smirked at me, "Pickle juice"

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"That's...How did you even-"

"My sister introduced me to the mix. I was skeptical at first, but now I think it's the best mix" He seemed sullen as he spoke. I wanted to ask if he was ok, but I had a feeling if he wanted to talk then he would have. He turned his head back to the crowd and I noticed his expression turned annoyed. I followed his gaze and saw Kurt waving him over.

"looks like someone wants to dance" I laughed.

"Just because we are the only two gay guys out in the program, it's like we are automatically expected to just get together" He replied with an annoyed tone making me laugh. "He's not my type." I turned back to Britt and noticed she was dancing more with Quinn now than the guy. I watched as Britt moved to the music, so in tune with the beat. She had this amazing control of her body when she danced. "You should just dance with her" said Blaine.

"I don't know what you're talking about." i answered.

"I think you do. Come on its just a dance." He had that sympathetic look on his face that I hated seeing.

"It's not that simple." I answered back.

"Maybe it's more simple than you're allowing it to be" His tone was softer than earlier.

"How would you know?" I practically spit back. I could feel my anger boiling and I just didn't know how to handle it. Britt was now dancing with the guy a little closer forcing me to look away at the drink in my hand.

"Well I only came out maybe a year ago. So, I'd say the process is still fresh in my head" He said bitterly.

"I'm not-" I panicked.

"I'm not saying you are. I'm saying I came out" He sighed, "Look, if you won't dance with her. Then why don't we go dance" I smiled gratefully at him before finishing my drink and joining him. I tried to push back our conversation and all the lingering thoughts from my head.

"San!" giggled Rachel, "There you are" She laughed as she joined Blaine and I. "Hey Blaine!" He laughed at her and we all continued to dance. I kept glancing at Britt and felt this need to go over there and push the guy away. I shook my head and wished I had another drink. I can't keep thinking these thoughts. Luckily, the alcohol was finally starting to work and my thoughts were slowly going away. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to enjoy the music and the friends I was with.

~.~

The weekend flew by and soon it was Sunday night. Quinn and I were spending some quality time together after she complained earlier about how we never see each other. Apparently, living together doesn't count. We just finished watching the most sappy romantic comedy i'd ever seen. As much as Quinn pretended to be a hard ass, only a handful of people knew she was a romantic at heart.

"God you're such a sap." I joked as I handed her a few tissues.

"Oh shut it." She replied.

"What has London done to you? You're starting to get an accent" I laughed.

"Really?"

"No" I replied instantly earning a smack.

"God we need boyfriends" she laughed earning a raised brow from me.

"Don't you have one back home?" I asked.

"No, we broke up again. I swear this is the last time I give him a chance." She said annoyed.

"No offense Quinn, but I've heard you say that so many times."

"Well fifty times the charm." She smiled, "Being here has given me a whole new outlook on life. I mean I facetime my mom almost every day and my sister. Yet he always has some excuse as to why he can't. Everything always has to be on his schedule. I just can't live like this anymore." Ranted Quinn.

"Amen to that" I replied. Quinn had this hard expression on her face and I hoped that she meant it this time. That guy was like quicksand. "So now San, why are you still single?" asked Quinn.

I stared at her in shock, "Well why do you think?" I replied bitterly.

"Do you want an honest answer or a sweet sugar coated one" she asked with a serious tone in her voice.

I sighed, this was not exactly the conversation i anticipated having with her tonight. "You're always straight to the point, aren't you."

"Damn right." Answered Quinn. "San, I've given you more than enough space, but I can't anymore." Quinn grabbed a bottle of wine. I swear, this is what happens when you allow 19-year old's to drink freely. She and I have become so accustomed to wine, I'm pretty sure by the end of this we go through withdrawal. She poured me a glass of wine, "We need to have this talk San" I stared at her defiantly, "We have to talk about Dani"

"What about her?" I asked in shock. I thought for sure she would ask me about Britt. "We just spoke to her last week. What's there to talk about?"  
"Cut the shit San" said Quinn, "You know what I'm talking about." She took a long sip of her wine and set it down before grabbing my hand. I gulped and tried to look away from her, "San, you need to talk about it. If you ever want to move on."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes-"

"No there isn't!" I practically yelled. "There was never anything between us and there never will be"

"But you wanted there to be"

I took a long gulp of the wine, my anger was still raging and I was trying to stop it, "No, I don't" I could feel tears in my eyes, "She was just a best friend, that's all."

"San, I am a best friend." She answered emphasizing the word I, "What she was- I know what she meant to you." Replied Quinn. "She also knew what she meant to you too." She whispered. My heart raced and I immediately looked at Quinn.

"What?" I asked hesitantly.

"She knew. That's why we got into a fight last year. San, she knew and was using it against you." I watched her and tried to mask my emotion. Dani always knew my feelings for her? She knew and still flaunted all of her boyfriends in front of me? She knew, yet still hung onto me and made me watch her parade with them, uncaring of how much it hurt me. I wanted to say Quinn was wrong, but I couldn't find my voice. "She tried to deny it at first, but she was always so easy to rile up. I eventually got it out of her. I wanted to say something to you, but you never wanted to talk about it. I knew you still wanted her in our lives, so I promised to remain civil." Quinn's voice wavered, "San, please say something." I could hear the worry in her voice. Quinn and Dani were the only ones who knew my past. They've seen me at my worst. Trust doesn't come fast for me, but these girls damn well broke all of my walls and fought for our friendship. To think, Dani would intentionally hurt me was the biggest betrayal. In my heart, I knew it though. I knew Quinn was telling the truth.

"You know why I decided to go to Albany, don't you?" I asked breaking the silence, "I mean the second reason." Quinn nodded slowly. "I had to get away. She was draining me. I was so infatuated with her at the time."

"Was?"

"yes was. Once I left, it was so hard. I mean ridiculously hard. I don't think I could have moved on without your help. You, know, I saw her before we left to London." I answered truthfully. "She looked the same and acted the same, but I don't feel that connection with her anymore. That infatuation was gone. I still found her beautiful, but the damage was beyond repair. The space helped alot. It's different when you don't have memories of the person constantly reminding you of your feelings." I could feel tears threatening to fall, "I thought it was just a Dani thing. You know, she had that personality that was so endearing and this appeal. I thought it was just her, but then-Now" I sighed, "You know, I tried to like other people. I dated so many guys, but its like picking bricks. I can't find one I like! Why?!" I asked angrily. "Quinn, I can't go through this again, it hurt too much last time."

"Go through what?" asked Quinn. She had an odd look in her eyes.

"I just finally started building a relationship with my family! They finally enjoy my company! They finally want me around! I worked so hard to get the best grades, be what they want me to be. I never failed a class, I never snuck out or was rebellious!" I laughed bitterly, "Yet i'm labeled the problem child!" I started yelling in between sobs. "I can't like girls. Quinn, I'll lose them again. They'll finally disown me." I felt her arms embrace me as she pulled me closer. All this anger was spilling out of me until all that was left was just pain.  
"Well then it's their loss San." She said softly. "You'll always have me." I nodded at her, but she grabbed my head so i could look at her, "San. You are an amazing friend and the best sister I could ask for. You really are the twin I've always wished for. Be yourself San. If your family can't handle it then screw them. Move in with mine" She said with a laugh.

"I don't think your mom wants to add another person in her apartment" I laughed bitterly.

"My mom loves you! You'll always have my family. You're practically one of us as it is."

I laughed remembering all the fun I've had with her family. "San, for once just be selfish. Think about yourself. Be happy! You're the only one stopping yourself from being happy"

"Why does everything with me have to be so difficult" I asked laughing lightly.

Quinn laughed with me and shoved me lightly, "You could definitely compete with Rachel in the drama department. That's for sure" She answered making me laugh, "So, now can we finally talk about your crush on Brittany?" She said with so much excitement.

~.~

The next week flew by fast. After my talk with Quinn, I felt lighter. The more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right. We ended up talking for the rest of that night. I don't know why I took so long to tell her. She's the only person who has never judged me or left, no matter how much of an ass I can be.

"You're staring again, San" elbowed Quinn.

"Why do I tell you anything?" I asked annoyed. The only problem with our talk, is now that Quinn got me to express my feelings, she did everything possible to tease me about them.

"Because you love me." She laughed. We were shopping by ourselves and for like the 10th time, I found myself staring at my phone. I scoffed at her before putting my phone away. The only problem with admitting my feelings was now they were a reality. I could no longer deny they existed and now, I had to do everything in my power to control my thoughts and emotions around Britt. Lucky for me she made it so easy to be her friend that I didn't have to worry too much about joking with her or even spending time with her. The problem though were the little touches. I was hyper aware of the feelings I had when she'd accidentally touch me or was standing too close.

"San, you know she likes you too right?" interrupted Quinn.

"Quinn" I sighed, "We spoke about this. She just considers me her friend." I groaned. As much as it sucked to admit, I knew from past experiences that I tended to look too much into things. I mean look what happened with Dani. "Just let it be Quinn. I'm not going to lose another friend because of my feelings."

"Whatever you say San." Replied Quinn. "Oh San! The bikinis are on sale!" She squealed from a corner of the store.

"Quinn. It's February!"

"Yes and our spring break is in April! Let's get prepared!"

"Why don't we get prepared for this trip first? It's coming up tomorrow!" The excitement in Quinn's eyes was indescribable. I gulped loudly before continuing my search for sneakers for tomorrows trip. Tomorrow's trip was coming way too fast.

 _Authors Note: Thanks for reading! I wasn't too fond of this chapter, but i'm glad i finally finished it. Next chapter might be just as long, but less dramatic. Stay tuned!_


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the long wait. With: apartment searching, job searching, work, vacation, wisdom tooth removal and a new 3 month old puppy terror, I have been completely swamped. As promised, here is a very long chapter for you. Enjoy! ;)

Chapter 6: We have Gone Bonkers

"Three more stops!" Giggled an excited Rachel. Next to her sat Quinn who at the moment was staring at my phone that was laid out on top of the table in front of us.

"Ha!" She cried out happily as the spinner stopped.

"God Quinn, I don't think any more kids can fit in your car. At this rate you're going to have to upgrade to a bus" I laughed.

"What? I like the idea of a big family." She shrugged

"Quinn, you're a teacher with a 60k salary, have a stay at home husband and now 6 kids." I repeated earning a giggle from the person next to me.

"7 kids" corrected Britt.

"Don't hate because you don't have any kids yet." Laughed Quinn. I spun the spinner quickly and cheered.

"Hey I now have a dog. Psh kids are overrated" I laughed.

"Better be a rescue" said Rachel

"Your turn Britt" I said elbowing the girl next to me. As grateful as I am that Quinn pulled Rachel into the seat next to her, I was trying so hard not to think about the person sitting next to me. Our legs were touching and at one point her head was on my shoulder, which in turn caused her body to lean against me. I was so sure she could hear my heart drumming loudly. Luckily, Quinn was able to take my mind off things by telling me she wanted a rematch in the game life that was on my phone.

"Oh yay! I have grandkids!" said Britt

"Wait how?" asked Rachel, "You don't even have any kids!" laughed Rachel.

"I don't know. The game said I am a grandmother and gave me a life card"

"I always thought Quinn would be a grandmother first" I joked.

"Ugh. Of course, every one of my kids needs to go to basketball camp!" said an annoyed Rachel, "Spoiled brats" She pushed the phone back towards Quinn who was still laughing at Rachel's luck.

"Next stop Fishguard!" said a voice on the loudspeaker.

"Alright that's us" said Rachel as she started putting her jacket on.

"Finally!" answered Quinn. "my legs were starting to fall asleep."

"San, could you pass me my jacket?" asked Britt.

"Oh, right" I said quickly. I had forgotten that I placed Britt's jacket and mine closest to the window so we'd have more room. I quickly grabbed it and handed it to her along with her gray beanie.

"Thanks San" She said appreciatively. I nodded at her.

"Will you two stop staring at each other and get ready! The train's stopping" groaned Quinn loudly. I glared at her as my cheeks burned. I looked down and put my jacket on quickly before grabbing my bag. I will totally get back at Quinn later. Britt and I followed behind Rachel and Quinn as they lead the way off the train. Only a handful of people exited the train with us. We looked around the station and walked towards the nearest exit.

"Great it's raining!" said an annoyed Quinn.

"Wow, you take me to the most beautiful places" I responded sarcastically to Quinn. The station looked pretty old and was in need of desperate repair. Quinn smacked my arm before following Rachel.

"The shuttle should be around here" said Rachel. We all looked around until a few minutes later Britt said, "I found it"

We all turned towards her gaze and spotted a van a few feet away with a Preseli Venture sign on it.

"Good job Brit!" Squealed Rachel. "Now let's go before it leaves us!"

We were greeted by a man and woman who were nice enough to grab our bags and place them in the back.

"Cheers everyone! I'm Amanda and I am a guide at Preseli Venture! Can I have your names?"

"Hi Amanda, I'm Rachel and this is Quinn, Brittany and Santana." Said Rachel before anyone could answer. We all piled into the van to avoid the rain as they continued to speak. I sat In the second row with Brittany taking a seat next to me. Quinn took the seat in the row in front of us with Rachel following.

Within minutes of leaving Britt's head was on my shoulder and I could almost feel her breathing get heavy.

"Wow look at how dark it is here" said an amazed Rachel. The view was getting more beautiful as the drive continued.

"Yeah. We are really going out far aren't we?"

"Yes. Preseli Venture is around a National park by the coast. About 30 minutes" said Amanda. Finally the van pulled into a lot in front of a cute lodge. "Welcome to the Eco-lodge!" The driver stopped and immediately grabbed our belongings out of the back, while Amanda helped us out of the van. They weren't kidding when they said the lodge was far from everything. There was literally nothing around the lodge except grass.

"oh god, this looks like the perfect setting for a Jason movie" I whispered to Quinn who laughed.

The only other living thing nearby seemed to be some cows that were fenced around the lodge.

"Come on ladies, I'll show you around." Said Amanda.

She guided us on a quick tour of the area. It was a cute, cozy building. She showed us to the bathrooms, bar, dining area and then led us to a 3-bunk bedroom located on the ground floor close to the bathroom. "This is where you will be staying." The room was the perfect size for 6 people. Directly, next to the right of the door was one bunk bed. Across from that bunk were cubbies for our items and bags. The other two bunks were directly across from the door. There was one window in between the bunks.

"Is anyone else coming?" Asked Rachel.

"Looks like one more person will be arriving. She was on the same train, but got lost at the transfer point in Swansea. She will be arriving by taxi a little later" Answered Amanda. "Breakfast is tomorrow at 7 sharp. Afterward we will prepare for sea kayaking! Unfortunately, the waves aren't good for surfing this weekend."

"Oh great!" said Quinn excitedly.

"We will leave a few beers out on the bar for you. Just place your payment for them on the counter for the bartender. If you need anything here is our contact information. Will you ladies be okay for the night?" She asked as she gave Rachel her card.

"Wait you're leaving us here by ourselves?" asked Quinn.

"Yes. The staff has already gone home for the night. I will be around the lodge area waiting for our last guest. Please feel free to enjoy the lodge. Cheers!" Said Amanda cheerily before heading out.

I looked at Rachel who was staring at the 2 bunk beds across from the door. Before she could move, I grabbed my bag. "I call this bed!" I yelled running towards the bottom bunk to the left of the window.

"Hey! Fine I call this one!" Yelled Rachel as she followed and took the bottom bunk to the right. The beds already had fresh linen on them accompanied with one pillow. I sat on my bed just as Quinn placed her purse on the top bed above my bunk. Britt grabbed the last bed which was above Rachel's.

"This is perfect!" said Rachel. This room was the perfect size for us. The bunks were close enough that we could whisper to each other easily, but had enough room for us to walk by. We all placed our bags in the cubbies and took out our pajamas and clothes needed for tomorrow. When we were done, we decided to go to the lounge.

~.~

"I need Coffee" I groaned.

"I'm surprised that the freezing cold shower this morning didn't wake you" laughed Marley causing all of us to shiver at the memory. This morning, we all walked groggily into the bathroom to prepare for the day. Somehow yesterday none of us had noticed that each toilet stall had a private shower attached. The problem with this was that all that separated the shower from the rest of the stall was a small divider with a gap in the top and bottom. This allowed the toilet and everything near it to get drenched during a shower. Little did we realize that the bigger problem would be the freezing cold water. Needless to say, after a lot of yelling, we all left the shower wide awake and shivering, but clean. Marley ended up joining us last night about an hour after we went to the lounge. It turns out, she was on the same train as us coming from London. She said she was sitting right behind Quinn on that ride and had heard us joking about Quinn's 100 children. Poor thing missed the transfer at Swansea by a few seconds.

"I told you guys we should have gone to bed" complained Quinn. "But no, you wanted to stay up past 1 to play Jenga and monopoly."

"Oh, come on, we had the place to ourselves. Don't complain." said Rachel. We were all at breakfast enjoying a tasty plate of eggs and bacon. "Plus, if my memory serves correctly you were the one who seemed to be enjoying yourself when San ended up spitting her entire drink in my face. You didn't seem to be complaining then"

"That was so funny" snickered Quinn as I turned beet read, "And you're forgetting, poor Marley got hit with the drink too. I don't hear her complaining" Marley sat next to both, her face red as she continued giggling.

"Hey! I didn't spit on you! My beer just like literally erupted." I exclaimed through giggles, "That has never happened to me before. It's like someone shook my beer bottle before I opened it." I said glaring at Quinn.

"Drink up you too." Interrupted Britt as she returned. She placed three cups of coffee on the table, handing one to Quinn and then me before taking her seat next to Rachel, across from me. I was seated in between Quinn and Marley.

"You are a goddess Britt" said Quinn as she happily drank some of her coffee. "I approve of her San." She whispered next to me.

"Quinn!" I hissed sharply before immediately turning to Britt. She was watching us with an amused expression on her face.

"What exactly do you approve of Quinn?" asked Britt with an airy voice. Quinn for once looked surprised and thrown off by Britt's question. Meanwhile, Rachel combusted with laughter, while I looked down and focused on my coffee, praying that if I didn't move she wouldn't ask me to answer.

"I hope you all enjoyed your breakfast! Is everyone ready?" Asked Amanda with her sweet and cheery voice. "Once you are, please meet us outside by the shed to get clothed and to pick your kayak." Thank god! I sighed deeply. Luckily, Rachel insisted that we all bring our small bags with us to breakfast. Quickly we all finished our drinks before placing our plates in the dishrack and leaving. We then walked into the shed where a male instructor stood.

"Good Morning Ladies. I am John! Can all of you form a line by me?" he asked. All of the girls stood in front of me as he grabbed different wetsuits. He looked at each of the girls in front of me and would hold the wetsuit up to them before placing it in their hands. When it was my turn, he stared at me carefully and picked up a wetsuit. He held it in front of me and then shook his head before grabbing the next one. Again, he shook his head and then held both up in front of me. I could hear the snickers of the girls nearby and felt my cheeks burning in embarrassment.

"Hmm, I think this one will fit you." He finally said. "You're in between both of these sizes" He sighed.

"Uh thanks" I grabbed the wetsuit and followed the girls into the changing room. The wetsuit wasn't like one I've ever seen, not that I've seen any in person. They were shaped like a pair of overalls. The pants were a thin rubber material that connected to the top forming an attached tank top type of look. We were told to wear a bathing suit under our clothing with a sweater to stay warm. Once finished, I grabbed a red helmet, a blue life jacket and a pair of water shoes.

"Great! Step into a kayak, this will be yours for the trip" He said quickly with a thick accent after noticing we were ready. He was standing in front of 5 small orange-reddish kayaks. We all picked on and sat in them as instructed.

"Inside of the kayak you will feel a metal bar on the side. This can be adjusted for comfort." He said as he adjusted Britt's. Her kayak was farthest to the right. Once finished, he told us to do the same. It was easier said than done. After a few minutes of struggling, I was able to get my right-side bar adjusted and was working on the left. Britt was standing next to me helping Marley adjust hers. To my right, Quinn was finishing up, while Rachel was standing over her own Kayak trying to unjam hers. After some more pushing, I was finally able to fix mine.

"Yes" I said victoriously causing Britt to look over at me. We shared a quick smile until we heard a very loud voice.

"It won't budge!" whined Rachel. Quinn had finished adjusting hers and was standing over the kayak now as Rachel was sitting inside. Britt shook her head and continued helping Marley. I laughed, contemplating helping Quinn and Rachel, but was enjoying the show too much. Eventually, with the help of Quinn and John, Rachel's kayak was adjusted.

"Right then." He handed each of us a paddle. He then gave us a quick lesson on how to paddle properly. We all mimicked his actions, until a loud "oomf" was heard and then a loud laugh from Rachel.

"Really Rachel?" asked Quinn as she nursed her arm.

"Sorry" said Rachel as she continued laughing.

"Okay then" said the amused instructor. Next to him Amanda was holding a large grayish black stack of what looked like clothing, "You are all just about ready. You will just need to put these skirts on." He said laughing at our expressions. He held open this weird looking "skirt".

"What kind of skirt is this?" asked Quinn. Amanda was passing them out.

"Why is it so heavy?" I asked.

"Let me demonstrate how to use this" He said putting the skirt on, "May I?" He asked Britt. When she exited her kayak, he sat inside. "So, you're going to place the skirt over the opening like this." We watched as he fastened it to the opening so it stayed. "This should keep the water out. Also, if the boat capsizes just pull that little lever there and the skirt will release, allowing you to exit your kayak. Any questions?" he said quickly.

"What do you mean capsize?" asked Rachel.

~.~

"Lift!" yelled Rachel as Quinn and I lifted her boat.

"Wow even the Kayak is lighter than your bag" I joked earning a glare.

"You know Rachel, this would be quicker if you actually helped carry something" said Quinn annoyed. Behind us, Marley and Britt were carrying another kayak.

"I'm carrying the paddles" she shrugged before strutting in front of us, her skirt moving slightly at this. Suddenly, her foot caught on the skirt causing her to trip slightly. Unable to control ourselves, Quinn and I were laughing so hard we nearly dropped the kayak, earning a glare.

"Once all of the boats were dropped onto the rocky beach and the paddles placed inside, we all stood together watching the water. The coast of Wales was absolutely breathtaking. I would have never guessed that Wales could have beautiful bluish-green water that you could see through!

"Smile girls!" said Amanda. All of us were wearing our ugly skirts over the wetsuits with helmets, yet that still didn't stop us from posing.

"Alright ladies. Step into your kayaks!" said John.

~.~

"Now who's being dramatic!" yelled Rachel excitedly from her kayak.

"I'm not being dramatic" scoffed Quinn as water dripped off her face. Her hair was stuck to her face underneath the helmet.

"Well think about that next time you try to splash me" Laughed Rachel.

"I threw water at you. You sent a tidal wave at me. How's that not excessive?" said Quinn causing all of us to erupt in laughter.

"Ladies this way!" yelled Amanda from the distance.

We all paddled as quick as we could until we found Amanda and John.

"Who wants to go into a cave?" He asked.

We found ourselves paddling slowly near a cave one at a time. He had Marley enter first, before ushering Quinn, Rachel, Britt and then finally me. I paddled slowly around the rock formation trying not to hit any of the walls. I could hear the girls laughing from the distance inside. The cave entrance was close by so I moved a little quicker until I was finally in front of it.

"It's so dark!" I gasped as the current started pulling me inside the cave.

"San!" I heard Rachel half yell and giggle. I could barely see the walls or any of the girls. I did however, see the outline of their kayaks clearly. I allowed the current to pull me in closer, the cave wasn't that big. Suddenly my boat collided with a kayak.

"Well hello to you too San" laughed my favorite voice.

"Hey Britt" I could see some of her features in the dark. With her help, I was able to turn the kayak around so I was facing the entrance.

"San!" yelled Quinn, "I think something lives in here" panicked Quinn. "I swear my kayak just moved"

"That's called the current" laughed Rachel.

"Well how would you know?" asked Quinn, "We are in a dark cave in the water."

"isn't this beautiful ladies?" asked the instructor. "Smile!" He yelled holding a camera. "Beautiful, now let's get you out of here before we wake the residents in this cave" he said with a deep throaty laugh.

"Out of my way!" yelled Rachel.

After a few hours of exploring, we docked the kayaks. The water was freezing, but the wet suits did a great job keeping me warm.

We left the kayaks on the floor in front of the van before going back to the shore line to watch the waves one last time.

The ride to the lodge was maybe 15 minutes. When we arrived, we all changed out of the wetsuits and then dragged ourselves over to the dining area where a fresh lunch was being cooked.

"Lunch will be ready in a bit. Why don't you ladies take a seat while we finish preparing it" said the cook. She had a large smile on her face and seemed like a genuinely nice person. We nodded and walked to the sofas and electric fireplace. I found myself sitting in between Quinn and Britt, with Marley sitting on the second sofa with Rachel. Everyone looked ready to pass out. After maybe fifteen minutes all of us were still sitting on the couches. Marley was logged onto the Wi-Fi searching for Rachel on Facebook, while the rest of us relaxed. Britt and Quinn were both resting their heads on my shoulders peacefully. At this moment, I felt on top of the world. I wasn't sure what I would do without the two girls next to me and didn't want to know what it felt like to be without them. Quinn had been my unexpected best friend since I was 11 years old and together we had been through thick and thin. Britt, however, was still a mystery to me. In such a short amount of time, we formed this unexplainable bond. With Quinn's help, I had already come to terms with my feelings, but was I ready to say something to Britt? Hell, I didn't even know if she felt the same way for me or even liked girls. I could potentially ruin everything or there's the off chance that she feels the same and I could finally find the love I've been yearning for with the most beautiful person. There's also the problem that she's a girl, but for once I'm not going to choose not to dwell on this.

"Lunch" called the chef from earlier.

~.~

"God this is the most amazing soup I've ever tasted" said Rachel. Quinn and Britt nodded sleepily in agreement.

"Yeah. It's so tasty. I wonder what's in it?" I answered. I tend to be pretty picky and to finally find something that tastes so good here in the UK was great.

"So, what do you want to do with all this free time?" Asked Rachel. Quinn and Britt still looked ready to pass out. Marley shrugged. I stood up and grabbed 5 cups and filled three of them with coffee, the last two I filled with hot water and placed tea bags in them with some honey. I gave the teas to Rachel and Marley before returning to finish preparing the coffee. Once prepared, I brought the coffees and placed them in front of a half-asleep Quinn and groggy Britt.

"Drink up you two" I said softly, "We still have to jump off cliffs in an hour"

Both nodded before grabbing the coffee gratefully.

"Thanks San" said Britt as she hugged her hot coffee. It took about 5 minutes for the coffee to work. Soon we found ourselves exploring the empty lodge. We were told it could hold about 50 people and were curious at how this was possible.

"Wow look how huge this room is!" Said Quinn. We had walked into a room that was full of bunk beds. I mean they were literally built into the walls and were at least 4 beds high. The room could easily hold 24 people if needed. We had already passed a room that looked like an attic, but once we walked up the staircase realized it was another bedroom room with one triple bunk.

"We must have one of the smallest rooms" said Britt thoughtfully. We ended up taking random photos in each room until we made our way outside for the final activity of the day.

"Hello ladies" greeted John. "We will have two more people joining us for coasteering." We nodded, "Lets get you dressed though" This time we were handed these heavy thick wet suits accompanied with thick rubber socks, a life jacket and the same helmets as before. Once equipped, I followed Quinn into the big changing room, leaving Rachel, Britt and Marley with John. Thank goodness, I wore my bathing suit already as it's the only thing that could possibly fit under the wetsuit. The only question is, how do I get this on? I took off my shirt and pants leaving me with just a bikini on before placing my legs into the wet suit. Oh my god this is freezing! The wet suit felt like it had been stored in a freezer before being distributed to us. Once the shock wore off, I continued trying to put it on. This really wasn't made for curves. I looked over at Quinn, who was doing a little dance attempting to get the wetsuit up her legs. I laughed at her predicament before mimicking her. Surprising enough it worked and I was able to get the thick rubber material over my legs.

"Oh I love your bikini top Santana" said Rachel. The wetsuit was only covering my legs leaving my top still off. My cheeks turned red as I realized Britt must be nearby. Sure enough, behind Rachel stood Britt. Her blue eyes were staring at my top. She looked up and then gave me a smile, "Yes it looks good on you" she said before winking at me causing my cheeks to burn even more. Dear lord what is this girl trying to do to me. Wait, did she just wink at me? Was she just checking me out?

"I love the colors" Added Marley who walked in.

"See San! Aren't you glad I convinced you to get a new bikini for the trip?" Said Quinn. I looked at her and saw her smirking proudly. Did she enjoy seeing me in these situations?

"Thanks" I muttered before attempting to get the rest of the wet suit on.

My heart was hammering in my chest and I refused to overthink what just happened. Britt was becoming more comfortable with me, that's for sure. I watched as she and Rachel walked over to another area of the dressing room.

About 30 minutes later we exited the van all clad in our gear.

"Okay everyone. Make sure your life jackets are properly tightened." He said demonstrating how to check. As we all did this, I looked around carefully. The weather went from beautifully sunny to foggy with some rain.

"Its misting" I whispered to Quinn who elbowed me.

"Relax San" She replied.

"Good. So, everyone stay in a straight line while we cross the rocks. If anyone falls into the water or gets carried away by a wave, I have rope. Hehe like David Hasselhoff" He said with a deep accent. At this, I looked at Quinn with a look of pure panic.

"Wait, what rocks?" asked Rachel hesitantly.

"Well those over there of course" replied the instructor as he pointed at the rocks in the distance. I followed his line of view and immediately felt my stomach tighten. In the distance was a shoreline with very large rocks that went out for miles. The waves were hitting the rocks roughly and the entire area was covered in a light fog.

"Of course" said Rachel as she gulped.

"Right then. Follow me everyone" We all walked slowly.

"Did anyone even bother to look up what coasteering was?" I asked. I looked around as each girl shook their heads.

"Not really. I just figured we would be jumping off cliffs. I didn't realize we had to hike over rocks to get to the cliff" said Quinn.

"I'm not wearing the right shoes for this" I said in a panic.

"San calm down." said Quinn who tried to grab my hand, but I moved it. I continued walking forward with them following the group.

"You so owe me for this one" I said through gritted teeth.

"Wait, you're going to do it?" Asked Quinn in surprise.

"Of course, I have no choice now." I replied. "It's already paid for"

"Atta girl" said Marley with a smile.

"San we will be fine. It only looks scary" said Britt soothingly. I nodded at her trying to believe her words. Come on San, you promised yourself you'd do something crazy in England. This is your chance to do something fun and exciting.

"So are there any sharks in these waters?" asked Marley. Immediately I turned to the instructor who laughed.

"The only shark I've ever seen are Blue sharks, who have no history of attacking people. You will be fine" he laughed. We all followed him to the beach and watched as he checked his life jacket again before stepping into the water. "Okay everyone. Please remember to stay in a straight line and follow me. Amanda will stay In the back of the group and help anyone who needs it. The couple immediately stood behind him and followed him slowly into the water. I gulped and watched as my friends each followed the couple. First Marley then Rachel followed, then Brittany. Quinn looked at me with a supportive smile before following her into the water. With a large breath, I slowly walked forward, Amanda close behind me and placed my feet into the water slowly.

"Oh my god. The water is freezing!" I hissed in a low voice as my moved through the icy cold water. In front of me I could see the girls grimacing.

"Don't worry, the wet suits will kick in soon and warm you right up." Amanda said loud enough for everyone to hear.

I nodded and quickened my pace through the water. As we walked, the rocks to our right became closer. After a few more minutes the cold feeling disappeared making it easier. I looked up and noticed that the water was getting deeper and waves rougher as we approached the large rocks.

"Okay everyone. The waves here are rough. Hold onto the rocks as we walk. The floor may be slippery." Said John. We all followed his instructions and grabbed the wet rocks. Part of me was terrified at the prospect of going deeper in the ocean. I knew sharks lurked in any waters, however before I could dwell on this, a wave hit my body hard causing me to tighten my grip on the rocks as I followed. This proved to be difficult as the rocks were so slippery and nearly impossible to grip. After a few minutes of walking through waist deep water the group let go of the rocks and started swimming to another nearby set of large rocks. I took a deep breath before following Quinn.

"Oh god" I heard Quinn yelp, "That was cold!" I laughed heartily at her, knowing I wasn't the only one experiencing this. After a few minutes of swimming we reached the other set of rocks. The instructor walked a few feet along the rocks before stopping in front of a large boulder. When I looked up I noticed the boulder was like a huge step leading to an opening on the top of the rocks. He climbed the boulder and with a swift motion was able to climb the few rocks and through the clearing.

"He wants us to do that?" Quinn asked me with a surprised look.

"I guess so" I answered with a gulp. "I really don't think I'm wearing the correct shoes for this"

I watched as the group slowly climbed up the rocks. When it was Brittany's turn, I couldn't help but notice how easy she made it look. Her long legs of course helped, but she had this determined look on her face that made me fill with warmth. I watched as she climbed the boulder and then grabbed the instructor's hand to steady herself. Rachel, Marley and the couple were watching at the top and cheered as she made it. Quinn moved forward and stepped onto the boulder in front of me. She attempted to step onto the rocks where the others were and slipped a little. She stepped back onto the boulder nervously. I looked at the top of the rocks and watched as Britt laughed at something Rachel said. She looked absolutely radiant even with all of the gear on. I turned my gaze back to Quinn again and watched as she struggled. She looked at the ocean for a second and I noticed her hands tensed as she gripped the rocks. Just as I opened my mouth to say some words of encouragement, water shoots past Quinn hitting her waist and then slamming into me going above my head. The force caused my feet to slip from the rocks that I was standing on and my grip to loosen completely. My eyes widened as I realized I couldn't breathe with all of the water shuffling me around. Just as I started to panic, a hand grabbed ahold of my arm and pulled me against the rocks helping me steady myself. Immediately I grabbed ahold of the rocks and focused on breathing. The wave was so strong It had knocked the air out of my body. I look up at Quinn who was still struggling, she was about to move her legs again before she stepped back and tensed. My heart was racing as I felt the water around me rescind. Before I could react another wave, stronger than the first slammed passed Quinn and into me. My hands hit the rocks sharply and my body once again was pushed away from the rocks forcefully. "oh god" I yelped as I found myself being slammed around in different waves almost like a rope during a tug of war contest. I closed my eyes and held my hands in front of me, afraid that the waves would bring me back against the rocks too hard. I tried to regain footing on the floor, but it was no use, the waves were too strong and my shoes kept slipping. Two strong arms this time grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to the rocks and held onto me as the wave subsided allowing me to catch my breath. I look behind me and smiled gratefully at Amanda. She had a soothing smile on her face as she held onto me.

"Santana!" yelled John. "Go around Quinn" he said quickly. I looked at Quinn who had moved over to the side allowing me the room to climb onto the boulder. Without a second glance or thought, I rushed over to Quinn and quickly climbed the boulder and jumped onto the above rocks with a newfound energy. I grabbed onto John's awaiting hand.

"You okay there" he asked, "I saw you got pinned out there" Grateful that I was finally above the water, I nodded and smiled brightly. Before I could verbally answer a body collides with me, grabbing me.

"San!" said Britt as she grabbed my face. Her ace was so close to mine, that if I leaned in slightly I could kiss her. She moved her head around and examined my face. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"All good." I laughed answering her and the instructor. In all honesty, as terrifying as that was, if it meant this type of attention from her than I didn't mind one bit.

The instructor laughed before turning back to help Quinn.

"Wow San you really caught some good waves" laughed Rachel. "I'm glad you're okay" she said still laughing. "I'm going to go see if he could use a hand with Quinn" Britt was still next to me with concern etched onto her face.

"Britt, I'm fine. I promise" I laughed holding my hands up.

"San your hands are bleeding!" She hissed. I looked at them and noticed the scrapes.

"Oh. They're just little scrapes Britt. Look" I said as I attempted to remove the blood that had formed. Sure enough, once removed you could see the small cuts.

"You swear, you're okay" she said staring at my hands. Her blue eyes were a darker color than usual, which was causing a new round of butterflies to squirm in my stomach. My brain was screaming at me. Come on San! You seriously could have died without telling her! Get some courage and just kiss her! Instead, I shook my head slightly and smiled at her.

"On my life" I said, holding my hands up, "Scouts honor"

She slapped my arm and laughed "You were never a scout!" Her concern disappeared and was replaced with a smile.

"San!" yelped a voice behind me. Quinn finally made it up the rocks and was walking towards me. "I'm so sorry!" She said quickly as she pulled me close to her and hugged me.

"I'm fine Quinn" I said noticing her serious tone, "just give me a warning next time" I joked earning a smack. "Sheesh two smacks in one day. You two are on a roll" I laugh earning two more smacks. I don't know why, but that terrified feeling was gone, left behind in those rough waves. Both looked surprised at my demeanor, but didn't ask any questions.

"Come on girls!" called Rachel. She was with Marley and both instructors.

"You heard her" I said cheerfully, "Let's go!" Maybe it was the adrenaline, I'm not sure, but all I knew was that I couldn't wait to continue. Life is too short, right? Quinn looked at me suspiciously, while Britt smiled and grabbed onto both Quinn and me.

"Let's do this!"

~.~

"Oh my god. I think we are going to die here" said Rachel dramatically. It had been at least 2 hours and we found ourselves literally on a random rock in the ocean. We could see the beach In the far distance.

"You are so dramatic" said Britt as she caught her breath. After climbing the rocks, we walked on it for a while trying not to slip before having to climb down them. He then had us swim to a nearby set of narrow rocks and balance on them before swimming another distance to more rocks. All of us were sitting on the rocks pooped watching Marley and the couple enjoying the water. We were taking a much needed break.

"I am so out of shape" said Quinn as she grabbed her sides.

"Is it still raining?" I asked surprised at the random drops.

"I think so." answered Quinn. All of us were completely soaked with water dripping off our faces, so it was hard to tell if that was all ocean water or rain.

"Smile ladies!" said Amanda as she snapped a photo. Immediately Rachel ran over to us and posed as Amanda snapped another photo.

"hey girls!" laughed Marley, "Come on in! The waters great!" She was using her life jacket to float on her back. Quinn, Rachel, Britt and I shared glances at each other before grabbing each other's hands and jumping in.

After what felt like hours of walking, climbing and swimming we found ourselves swimming into a beautiful bluish green lagoon; no waves in sight.

"Wow it's so beautiful" I whispered. To the left I could see the cliffs from the photos earlier. We continued swimming until we reached some dirt and rocks directly next to the cliffs.

"Okay everyone who wants to jump the cliffs follow me!" said the instructor enthusiastically. I looked down at the floor as I felt my nerves creeping in, but this time I could also feel excitement. I could feel all my friend's eyes on me. With a deep breath, I looked up at them and smiled brightly.

"Hell, we just nearly died a few times, what's a few cliffs, right?" I said earning giggles and cheers. We all followed John up the cliffs stairs until we reached the top.

"Okay. I want everyone to cross their arms and put their feet together when you jump. It helps the landing. Amanda will be down in the water taking photos" He instructed, "Now who wants to go first" Marley rushed forward excitedly. She followed his instructions and before we knew it had jumped. We heard the loud splash and a loud giggle. Rachel then stepped forward giggling nervously. She mimicked John's actions before jumping, screaming the entire way down. Britt's hand brushes mine as she walked forward, taking Rachel's spot at the end of the cliff. She does this cute little warm up dance jumping on her tip-toes until John gives her the all clear. Instead of looking down, she turns back to me and winks before turning back around. With one quick step she positions herself and jumps gracefully. Quinn then squeezes my arm before walking forward. At this point, my breathing becomes heavier and the reality of what I'm about to do is sinking in. I am willingly jumping into the ocean off a cliff. Two fears in one quick motion will be conquered. This was something out of a crappy shark movie. You know the one where you jump off a cliff excited and then find yourself falling into the mouth of a Megaladon or something. I look at Quinn, who is staring at the water nervously. John has already given her the okay, but she looked hesitant. As excited as Quinn was for this, I knew most of her bravado was an act. She was always a little scaredy-cat just like me, the only difference was that getting past her fears excited her. With a small laugh, I realized this whole time she was probably putting on a brave face for me.

"Hey Quinn" I called out. She turned around and met my eyes. "Let's go bonkers" I say in the worst possible British accent I could muster. She laughed heartily, loosing that nervous look.

"Lets" she nodded before turning around. With a less than coordinated motion she jumped. She screamed for a moment before I heard a loud splash and then loud giggles. I walked forward slowly, my heart beating so fast, breathing shallow. My brain kept repeating the same mantra, "I can do this" on repeat. I reached the end of the cliff and gulped when looking down. My god, that is a long drop. I tried to swallow, but my mouth was so dry. Loud giggling , broke through my fearful thoughts causing me to look down again. There in true fashion, all my friends were splashing each other and laughing. Quinn was swimming away from Rachel, while Britt was hot on Rachel's trail. If they could do it, so can I, right?

"You ready?" asked John. I nodded without making eye contact with him. It's now or never. I crossed my arms as instructed and grabbed my nose. I took one last deep breath before taking one big jump. The cold air rushed me so fast that I almost forgot to put my legs together. Just as I did so, my body slammed into what felt like a thousand freezing cold bricks, once again knocking my breath out. But just as I felt the cold, it was almost immediately gone and I felt the life jacket literally pulling me back up to the surface. As soon as I did, I gasped for air and then laughed. I did it! I actually did it!

"San!" yelled Quinn as she collided into me. She grabbed onto my life jacket and swam us away from the cliff, allowing the next person to jump. She then gave me the biggest hug she could muster, while in the water. "We did it!" She laughed. "We did something absolutely crazy and lived!" All I could do was nod at her. I felt like I was walking on air. I didn't care that my ear felt like it was on fire or that my hands were scraped or hey that I was missing a shoe. Wait I am missing a shoe. Where's my shoe?

I start laughing uncontrollably with Quinn watching me curiously "We jumped off a cliff Quinn!" I said in between laughs, "We almost died" I continued in between breaths, "Look" I said putting my shoeless foot above water, "I'm missing a shoe!" At this, Quinn joined me in laughing.

"Hey, we got a shoe!" yelled Rachel as she swam towards us with Britt following, "We got a shoe!" She continued to yell as she held my black shoe in the air like a trophy. "Who's shoe is this?"

~.~

That night after a large dinner and some Advil for my ear, I sat in my bed relaxing. Britt insisted on hanging out with me as the rest of the girls spent some time running around the lodge with bottles of beer in hand. Unfortunately, I preferred not to join them as I took the medicine.

"You know we should totally create that lotion one day Britt" I laughed. Somehow, we ended up talking about the most random things and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Even better, Britt and I were snuggled together under the blankets as the temperature had dropped that night. Since my bed was at the corner of the room, we had taken both of our pillows and placed them side by side against the corner of the bed against the wall. This allowed me to sit against the corner, with my legs upright facing Marley's bunk near the door, while Britt sat close to me facing Rachel's bed. After the crazy day I had, all I could think of was what the hell was I waiting for? This amazing, beautiful person who has practically changed my entire life in a matter of a month is laying right next to me, alone practically in my arms. I knew that if she were a guy, I probably would have made a move by now. Then again, I remembered that she was indeed a female and just because I was feeling something for her, didn't mean that she felt the same. Hell, she probably didn't even like girls. She's just so gentle in nature, maybe she's like this with all of her friends.

"Earth to San" giggled the beautiful blonde next to me as she nudged my shoulder. I looked back at her and focused on her relaxed features "You okay there?" she asked. This is Britt. She could reject you and you could lose this close friendship that you are building with her. But would she let your friendship go that quick if she didn't feel the same? Part of me felt that she wouldn't. That my feelings were safe with her, even if she rejected my advances. But could I get the courage? I shook my head slowly and then took a deep breath. In my head, I repeated Quinn's words "Be selfish for once".

"I'm great Britt" I said softly meaning each word. My heart felt so light and feelings I couldn't even describe were floating through me. This is my chance, I can't let it go. "How about you? You looked so in your element today."

She laughed "You have no idea" Her blue eyes had this shiny glint in them that I couldn't break away from. Sure, I almost hit the rocks and drown, hell, I nearly ruptured an eardrum jumping from the cliffs, but it all seemed worth it all because of that carefree look on her face. Finally, I looked away at the door, afraid to see her expression. Butterflies were swarming in my stomach as I nervously reached for her hand that was under the covers. My heart was hammering as my fingers brushed hers softly. She didn't pull away or move away from me so that's a good sign right? With every piece of courage I had left, I grabbed her hand gently, giving her any chance to pull it out of my grasp. I could feel my cheeks burning and could not look her in the eyes, for fear of what I'd see. "San" Britt whispered. She squeezed my hand softly. I broke my gaze away from the door and turned to her. Just as I went to look at her, the door literally slams open. I jump slightly, in the process removing my hand from Britt's. Immediately, missing the warmth I felt from her hand.

"Well hello there" sang Rachel.

"You two look mighty snug" smirked Quinn smugly. I glared at her halfheartedly.

"Oh hey girls. Enjoying the lodge?" asked Britt. Part of me deflated a little. She looked so unfazed, maybe I was imagining the whole moment? I am an English major, we do tend to dramatize everything after all.

"Oh it was great. Scary, but great!" said Marley.

"I'm pretty sure we found where Jason lurks" slurred Rachel loudly, "But don't worry, I'm sure he's cool." I shook my head and laughed. Quinn and Rachel fell into Rachel's bed with a thump, while Marley went onto her own bed closest to the door.

"Well if Jason does come, poor Marley's the first to go" Laughed Quinn.

At this Marley laughed and then look at the door directly next to her. "Oh gosh, I would be wouldn't I?" As the girls continued their banter, I felt Britt shift. Thinking she finally took her chance to move away from me, I reflexively tried to move more into my pillow and instead ended up colliding into the left front of her body with my head landing on her shoulder.

"Oh jeez, I'm so sorry Britt" I whispered, moving my head to chance a look at her. She smiled and shook her head. Before I could whisper another apology, her left arm wrapped around my waist under the blanket and then to my surprise, grabbed my hand, interlocking our fingers. I froze for a second and looked around. If our friends noticed anything, they didn't voice it. Instead, they looked deep into their conversation. I bit my lip as I felt a wide smile trying to form on my lips. I shifted closer to Britt, surprising myself, then leaned my head back onto her shoulder, my back was partially against her. I tried to focus on my breathing for fear that I'd pass out or worse that Britt would notice my heart beating so fast.

"Psh, we all know Rachel would be the first to go in the zombie apocalypse." laughed Quinn earning a smack by Rachel. We all laughed. Best trip ever.

~.~

The next morning was practically a blur. We woke up, had breakfast and then were scooped away for our last activity around 9AM. Our shuttle to the train was to leave around 4pm.

"Here's your map." said Amanda as she gave each of us maps. "There are two different hikes you can do, either the 2 mile or the 5. Just follow the coastline and you'll be fine. The lodge is close by. Good luck girls"

We all stared at each other before laughing.

"I guess we should have expected that" said Marley. It was actually a beautiful hike with perfect weather in the 50s. Just a simple hooded sweater and long sleeved shirt underneath kept me warm. The only problem was that the rain from the day before had caused most of the dirt to become mud. So aside from us nearly giving a sheep and a few cows a heart attack, sliding down the extremely muddy hills, we managed to survive the hike.

~.~

The train ride felt faster than the trip coming into Wales. We were pretty quiet throughout most of the trip, taking turns sleeping so we didn't miss our transfer. Marley stuck with us and didn't miss the train thankfully. Britt and I weren't able to sit together for most of the trip, so I got stuck with my lovely smug friend Quinn who spent half the trip trying to get me to talk.

"So San, did you make your move yet?" She whispered. "Because you two seemed really cozy yesterday."

"Quinn, shut up. She's right there" I hissed.

"She's sleeping" shrugged Quinn. "So talk"

I looked around and then at the seat in across from us and saw her sleeping comfortably against the window next to Rachel. Marley was sitting in front of them talking to Rachel . "Nothing happened yet."

"There's a yet?" she asked.

"I hope so." I answered. "I really do"

"You are so clueless" she laughed. "She'd be crazy to not like you San" Quinn said softly.

"She's the last thing from crazy" I said defensively, "But, thanks Quinny"

~.~

After 3 long hours, we entered our building completely exhausted. Rachel and Quinn walked in front of us.

"I call first shower" yelled Quinn as she ran forward dragging her luggage to our room.

"Same!" Rachel called out as she followed to her room.

"Wow" I said as I heard both the room doors open and shut so fast. Britt only shook her head at our roommates. We walked quietly until we reached my door first. Suddenly, I felt nervous. "Still the same Quinn, always hogging the shower." I laughed. My free hand was shaking slightly. Luckily the other was preoccupied with my luggage.

"Yeah those two are like peas in a pod sometimes" agreed Britt softly. She looked to be deep in thought.

"You okay Britt?" I asked as I let go of my luggage and cautiously grabbed her hand, hoping to get her full attention. This time she looked at me. With one swift motion, she gripped my hand tighter before pulling me towards her. Her free hand then grabbed my waist, steadying me in the process. Before I could process what was happening, her lips were on mine. All breath in my body shot out of me at the touch of her soft warm lips. My heart was doing that familiar hammering again and the temperature must have skyrocketed because my entire body suddenly was on fire. I barely had time to react before her lips were gone, too soon. It may have been a short kiss, but it made me feel more feelings than I've ever felt before.

"Yes, I'm great" she answered. "Good night San" With that she walked away and disappeared into her room. I stood there for a second, just staring at the spot where she was just standing. Did I just imagine that?

 _Authors Note: What did you think? I'll admit I was worried about all of the details I would need to include, but then I remembered that I had kept a journal during this trip! So many of the details described were from memory. Thanks for reading! I'll try to have an update soon._


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Thank you for your reviews and for reading so far! I don't know about you, but I'm in a fluffy type of mood. I mean, I keep listening to the song, "Into you" by Arianna Grande. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 7: Come Light Me Up

The next morning, I lay in bed deep in thought. Luckily, Quinn was still in the shower preparing for her early classes, which allowed me to continue to dwell on my thoughts. My mind couldn't stop replaying that kiss. I couldn't believe that Britt kissed me. I mean, here I was terrified that she would reject me holding her hand.

"Oh, hey San! I didn't realize you were up." Said a surprised Quinn. She had exited the bathroom clad in a bra and her jeans. "I didn't wake you, did I?" she asked.

"No, I've been up for a while" I admitted as I pulled my phone from under my pillow. I pushed the home button and saw no texts. I didn't expect her to text, but it didn't stop the sad feeling in my gut.

"Really?" She asked, "I swear San, I'll never understand how you like being up this early." She grabbed her blouse from her bed and tugged it over her head.

"You are definitely not a morning person. Quinn your shirts on backwards" I said with a laugh before turning back to my phone.

"You know that staring at your phone isn't going to will a text or phone call, right?" she asked. I could see her watching me through the mirror.

"Really Quinn? That's not creepy at all."

She shrugged, "What's got you so tense this morning?"

I looked away from her. I wanted to tell her, but I wasn't sure how to.

I sighed, "I'm not exactly waiting for a text. I just wish she would text me."

"Who?" she asked, "Britt?"

"Who else do you think?"

"Well San, no offense but she did just spend the entire weekend with us. She's probably just tired." Said Quinn, "Plus you'll see her for your Monday morning Britt and San time. Which we still need to talk about missy! As your best friend, I feel like I should get a day dedicated to us too. How about-..-"

"She kissed me" I interrupted, unable to hold it in any longer. Quinn stopped talking and stared at me in shock.

"On the lips?" She asked

"Yes…what do you mean? Where- actually don't answer that" I laughed. Quinn's mouth was agape. "You know, you'll probably catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that." I joked. Suddenly, a body jumped onto me.

"Oh my god! Finally!" She screeched as she hugged me.

"Quinn! You're going to squish me!" She laughed before moving to a sitting position.

"When, how, wait- when?" asked Quinn curiously.

"Yesterday night." Her hand smacked my arm hard. "Ouch"

"You waited that long to tell me!" She said in between smacks.

"Quinn!" I yelled as she glared.

"Okay. So how?"

"I would think you knew how a kiss starts." I laughed.

"San" she practically growled.

"We were saying bye and making fun of you and Rachel. She just kissed me."

"So.." she drawled. "How did you feel" At this, I smiled brightly.

"It was short, but…wow." I answered slowly.

"So then what's the problem?"

"There's no problem. I'm just so confused." I answered, "Where does this leave us? Does she want to be more then? We didn't really speak after so I'm just…" I stopped there unsure of the word.

Quinn grabbed my hand, "San it's okay to feel all of those things. It's also okay to be worried or nervous. Before you go asking those questions, just make sure you know your answers first. But remember one thing, this means she likes you back." At those words, I felt a large smile form on my face. She looked at her phone, "Crap! I have to go San." She yelped as she jumped off my bed and scrambled to grab her items, throwing them into her bag. "Remember what I said." Once finished, she yelled a bye and ran out the door. I sunk back into my bed and allowed her words to sink in. Britt does like me! We don't need to figure all of this out right now. Baby steps never hurt anyone, right?

A few hours later, I was dressed in my usual jeans, boots, and long sleeved V-neck, finishing up the dishes. Britt's food was still on her plate, uneaten. She hadn't showed yet and I had a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to. My class started in an hour and I knew I would have to leave soon. I tried to suppress my emotions, but the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach was hard to ignore. She must not have wanted to see me this morning because she's never bailed on our mornings together. I cradled my cup of hot coffee closer to me and took a sip. My head was starting to hurt with all of my thoughts. I finished the coffee with one last gulp and stood up slowly. I placed the cup into the sink and stared back at the uneaten sandwich and at the leftover coffee in my brewer. No use letting it go to waste. I walked back to my storage area and ripped a piece of aluminum foil. Once wrapped, I finished the dishes and placed all in my shared locker. With the sandwich in hand and coffee in a mug covered with foil, I went to my room, packed my belongings along with my laptop. Maybe I could make use of my time and go to the library or something. I do have a few papers coming up, it can't hurt to start them now. After a few minutes, I exited my room and allowed my legs to guide me to hers. I tried to focus on the task and not my feelings, just give her the breakfast and go. I stop in front of her door and hesitate. God, I am ridiculous. If she didn't want to see me, aren't I a bit pathetic knocking on her door and giving her the food she chose to skip out on? I tried to keep in mind that this was Brittany though, she wouldn't deliberately hurt me. Maybe she's not feeling good. Come on, you jumped off cliffs and faced your fears, what's one more? Hesitantly, I raised my hand and knocked on the door lightly. If she doesn't answer, I can just go. The door opens quickly revealing a pajama clad Rachel.

"Hey Santana" greeted Rachel.

"Hi Rachel" I responded quickly, "Don't you usually have class Monday's?" I asked.

She laughed, "Yes. Luckily, my professor had marked this day as a vacation day for herself on the syllabus."

"Oh lucky!" I exclaimed.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked.

"Oh no" I said faster than I meant to. "I was just heading out and wanted to give this to Britt. Is she still here?" I asked.

"Of course she is. Her class was canceled so she decided to sleep in." said Rachel In a matter of fact type of voice. I nodded in understanding which earned a suspicious look from Rachel. "She forgot to tell you, didn't she?" asked Rachel shaking her head, "You should just come in Santana."

I shook my head, "I actually wanted to go over some things with Blaine before class, so I'll need to go in early. Could you just give her this?" I asked quickly making up the excuse.

Rachel sighed and then nodded, "If you're sure." I handed her the sandwich and coffee. "Breakfast in bed" muttered Rachel. She muttered a few things, but I couldn't catch them.

"Thanks Rachel! I'll see you later" I said with a quick smile. I walked away as fast as I could, my face turning a darker shade of red than expected.

The train ride was lonelier than expected. I've never ridden to Uni on a Monday alone, this was new. How come she didn't say anything? We always share our Monday mornings together, so if she didn't plan on showing why didn't she just text me so. I arrived to class early and was relieved to see Blaine already seated.

"Hey Blaine" I greeted.

"Santana" he waved. I took my usual spot next to him.

"You look like hell" I laughed as I noted his appearance. His hair was disheveled and his eyes had dark bags underneath.

"Thanks. You sure have a way with words" he groaned sarcastically opening his eyes. "Wow and you actually look the entire opposite." he responded as he looked me over.

"I look the same as usual."

"Your hair looks nice" he shrugged, "You left it curly. It's a nice look on you"

"Aww thanks Blaine" I responded feeling my cheeks burn. I was tired of straightening my hair and it took me like an hour to get my hair to look tamed. He nodded and slunk back into his chair. "You ok?"

He snorted a little and then shook his head, "You know that phrase means 'Whats Up?' here?" I stared at him puzzled. That makes so much sense. People kept asking me that and I always questioned whether I must be walking around looking like a lost puppy or something.

"Wow, how did I miss that?" I laughed, "Well anyway, I'm asking you the American way"

He sighed, "I'm okay. Just haven't been sleeping too much." he responded. Before I could ask why the Professor walked into the classroom.

"Good morning class!" greeted the professor. The class dragged on and I couldn't help but stare at my phone. I just don't get it, she kissed me! Could she be regretting it? Here I was floating this morning and all I wanted to do was text her. Yet, she couldn't be bothered to even try to contact me. Maybe I was sounding needy, I don't know. I just knew that it was nearly noon and she still hadn't bothered to even say hi to me. I rubbed the temples of my head as I started to feel a pressure from all the hurtful thoughts.

"Oh wow, look at the time. If anyone needs a note for your next class, please let me know. Also, don't forget that your papers are due in 2 weeks. I hope you have started them. I will see you Wednesday"

Blaine and I packed our bags and followed the class to the door.

"Have you started?" he asked

"Nope. You?"

"No." he answered causing both of us to laugh.

"I plan to go to the library to start it now actually" I said as we exited the door. Blaine was looking ahead of me and his brows creased before he smiled.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked causing me to follow his line of sight. Immediately I froze in place. A figure was leaning against the windowsill closest to my classroom. As soon as I saw her hair, I knew it was her. She looked absolutely gorgeous as the sunlight from the window was cascading over her, accentuating her long blonde hair that was hung over her shoulders covering her thin jacket. Her beanie covered the top of her hair, but you could see the waviness of her side bang still. Even then, she was wearing her usual jacket and dark jeans with her black booties. Our eyes met and immediately she stood up.

"Well, I'll leave you to it Santana. I'll see you later" Said Blaine. "Bye Brittany" She waved at Blaine, but held my gaze. My heart was racing and my mouth felt dry. What do I say? How do I talk again? As if by magnetic pull, my legs started walking me slowly to her, while she did the same. I tried to mask my emotions and keep a nonchalant expression, but wasn't sure what to do. I gave her a small smile.

"Hey Britt" I finally managed to say. "I thought your morning class was canceled today?" I asked.

"It was" she answered as I looked around unable to meet her gaze any longer. Most of the hallway had emptied by now. "San, I'm so sorry. I hadn't meant to sleep through our morning breakfast. Last night, my professor mass emailed the class that she was canceling class. It was already too late at night for me to message you, so I figured I'd meet you at breakfast still. I hadn't expected to just sleep through my alarm." she said in one quick breath. I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling. She stood there fiddling with her fingers. Was she nervous? Whatever anger or hurt I felt disappeared along with my mask. I put my bag down against the wall.

"Britt, take a breath" I laughed. "It's ok" I said softly before meeting her gaze.

"No it's not San." She said with a serious expression. "I can only imagine what you must be thinking" At this, I rose an eyebrow. Were we going to talk about this now? She's afraid of what I must be thinking?

"Well what should I be thinking?" I asked surprising my own self. I hadn't meant to say that out loud.

Britt opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by another voice.

"Have a good afternoon Ms. Lopez" My Professor said as she walked by us. I waved at her wishing her a good afternoon before turning back to Brittany.

"Sorry about that." I apologized. She nodded, but looked like she was thinking. "I didn't even know she knew my-" Her hands grabbed the front of my jacket and pulled me closer to her until we were only inches apart.

"I hope you're thinking the same thoughts as me" Whispered Britt as she leaned down slowly, almost giving me a chance to pull away if I wanted to. I placed my hands around her waist and closed my eyes before tip toeing slightly. Our lips grazed each others for a moment before I finally leaned in a little more. Her lips were even softer than I remember and they tasted like Strawberries. After a few seconds her hands loosened their hold on my jacket as she pulled away slightly. Our foreheads remained touching as we both stood in the empty hallway. I opened my eyes and was met with her blue ones staring at me intently. With a wave of courage, I looped my arms around her neck and pulled her to me, closing the gap quickly. I could feel her gasp against my lips and her grip completely let go of my jacket. After a second, her hands moved to my waist and pulled our bodies together. She recovered from her surprise fast as I felt her lips responding to me with just as much enthusiasm. A natural disaster could be happening and I swear I wouldn't have noticed. My mind was just on this amazing person who chose to kiss me. It could have been minutes, hours or even days before we finally broke apart, both in need of air. This time we both slowly backed away. To my surprise, her cheeks were the cutest shade of red.

"Wow" she said softly as she opened her eyes. We stared at each other, both smiling.

"Yeah" I responded. My hands were still around her neck, leaving me still close to her. Now that I've felt her lips on mine, it was like a newfound addiction; I just wanted to kiss her all the time. I had to fight the urge to close the gap again. As if in sync, our eyes met and I could almost feel myself being pulled to her lips again. Then a loud ringtone went off. Britt sighed before pecking my lips. She removed me one of her hands from my waist to search for her phone.

"My alarm" she laughed as she showed me her phone. I shook my head as I saw Rachel's picture in the screen. I removed my hands from around her neck so she could answer her phone more comfortably, but before I could step out of her embrace to get my bag, Britt tightened her hold on my waist and pulled me closer. I placed my hands around her waist and hugged her, placing my head in the crook of her neck. She has this sweet aroma that was so Brittany. I wonder what perfume she used or if that was her natural aroma; I wouldn't be surprised if it was. I couldn't help but feel safe.

"Hey Rach" answered Britt. After a few seconds, she loosened her hold on me. That's when I noticed the straps on her shoulder. How did I not notice this? Her shoulders must be so sore by now. I moved slowly out of her embrace and tap her shoulder. She scrunched her eyes as she listened to Rachel talk and turned to me. "Yes, I am with her now." Britt responded exasperated. I couldn't understand what Rachel was saying but I could hear her loud voice from where I was. She raised an eyebrow at me as I gestured to her bag. She had a curious expression on her face as I tugged at her bag. Finally nodding in understanding, she moved her shoulders, giving me better access to her bag. I removed it and placed it against the windowsill, grabbing my own in the process and placing it next to it. I then grabbed Britt's hand and pulled her with me. Rachel's voice got louder. "Yes Rach" Britt responded halfheartedly as she allowed me to lead her to the windowsill. Before she could say anything, I tapped the windowsill, so she could lean on it. She smiled and mouthed 'thanks' before returning her attention to her phone. Finally done, I leaned into the windowsill next to her. She said something to Rach, which earned a loud squeal. Britt moved the phone away from her ear and then looked at me, her cheeks turned a bit red. "Okay, yes Rach we are heading there soon. Okay bye. Rach I'm hanging up now. Bye" she pressed the end button on her phone and laughed.

"So, Rachel's your alarm?" I asked nudging her arm, looking for any excuse to feel her warmth. She grabbed my hand and locked our fingers.

"Yes, she insisted after I missed our morning together." Britt laughed as she stared at our hands. "She said I needed a reminder about my priorities" Britt mimicked in Rachel's voice earning a deep laugh from me. Then her words sunk in.

"Does this mean I'm a priority?" I asked playfully. She squeezed my hand softly. I met her gaze and was surprised at the shine I saw in her eyes.

"San, you've always been." She answered softly. At her words, I felt goosebumps. I wanted to say something, anything, but I couldn't find the words. She looked at her phone and sighed, "Looks like we won't have time for lunch." She said apologetically. She's kidding, right? I don't think I even have an appetite or would have changed anything that just happened.

"That's okay Britt. I wasn't hungry anyway" I smiled, trying to reassure her. Why can't I find anything to say! Tell her something! My palms were starting to sweat as I thought of what I could say to her. Instead, I used my free hand to grab my phone and look at the time. Her class would be starting in about 15 minutes! Wow, how did time pass so fast? "Can I walk you to class" I ask, not wanting to leave her just yet. She smiled brightly and nodded. She stood up, pulling me with her. We grabbed our bags and walked to the staircase in silence. My mind was having an inner war, tell her how I feel or wait? She tugs on my hand, breaking me out of my thoughts. When did we get to her class? I don't even think I've been to this side of the school yet. The halls were still partially empty as most classes were still going. I felt her eyes watching me, so I turned to meet her.

"Thanks for the sandwich" she said. Huh? Oh, breakfast, duh.

"Thanks for picking me up after class" I responded back. The halls started to fill with people as classes were letting out.

"Wait for me?" She asked with this hopeful look on her face. I nodded, unable to find the words. She had this adorable smile on her face. She leaned in and pecked my cheek. "I'll see you soon then." With one last look at me, she entered her classroom.

I placed a hand on my now tingling cheek.

I took a picture of her classroom number before walking around the floor. Luckily, there was a random lounge with chairs nearby that included a few charging ports. I opened my laptop and logged into the Wifi. I opened a new Safari private page and typed in 'how to tell if you are gay'. As it searched, I looked around briefly. Once I was sure I was alone, I looked back at the search. I opened the first link and read through some of it until a vibrating noise interrupted my thoughts. Immediately, I closed my laptop fast as if putting out a fire. My heart was racing until I realized it was my phone. It was of course from Quinn.

 _'Did you confess your undying love for her yet?'_ Lit up my screen causing me to roll my eyes.

 _'Hello to you too Quinn'_ I typed back.

 _'Come on, details!'_ she responded back instantly

 _'Later!'_

 _'San, please tell me you didn't ignore the girl.'_

 _'I didn't!'_

 _'Good girl. Where are you?'_

 _'Waiting for her class to end'_

 _'Aww, what a good girlfriend'_

 _'I'm not.'_

My phone suddenly vibrated loudly with Quinn's picture showing on my caller ID.

I said and answered "Hey Quinn"

"What do you mean you're not?" she said skipping any greeting.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" I asked changing the subject.

"It ended early." she responded quickly, "Didn't you and her literally spend half the day together so far?"

"We spent some time in between my class together."

"What did you talk about that entire time? Please tell me she's not as awkward as you"

"Hey!" I responded, "Umm, well, we didn't umm talk that much" I admitted.

"Then what did- oh" she said, "I knew I liked her. She's finally learned a new way to shut you up" she laughed.

"Quinn!"

"So you two made out for an hour and also all through breakfast? Wow I need to get me a girlfriend. That's some good stamina"

"Oh my god Quinn. We didn't make out that long. Only after my class. We didn't meet for breakfast."

"Okay. Wait what? You need to catch me up."

"Later Quinn. I need your help."

"What's up?"

"How do I tell her I like her?" I asked, "I've never been good at this. Most of the time the guy likes me and I just nod. I want her to know I like her. But how?"

"Just tell her."

"How?"  
"Well you open your mouth and you say 'Britt, I like you. I want to have little blonde babies with a Spanish accent with you.' See simple right" she laughed.

"Quinn! I'm serious."

"So am I! What are you so scared of?" she asked, "She already kissed you, multiple times. I mean she initiated a make out session."

"Actually, umm I may have umm started that one."

"WHAT?!" yelled Quinn, "Wow, I didn't know you had it in you"

"She was just there, with this look on her face, I really don't know what happened. I kind of like just attacked her" I admitted turning red. "Oh god. I really did. She was so shocked"

"Well you're off to a good start. Now just tell her how you feel. You already did the hard part."

"Quinn, this isn't wrong though?" I asked feeling my fears surface again. When I'm with Britt, usually my fears go away because she just gives me that safe feeling. But now alone, I can feel my worries re-surface.

"No San. You are allowing yourself happiness. Don't let old beliefs stop you from finding happiness.

"But-"

"If Britt makes you happy, then go for her. If she doesn't then don't. It's that simple. Forget gender for a moment. I got your back, Rachel has yours too, now will you let her?"

"I've never felt this"

"I know."

"I'm scared"

"I know San"

"I'm also excited"

"Good" sighed Quinn, "Now focus on the good."

"Thanks Quinn." I felt better. Her reassurance helped.

"Anytime San. Just remember this moment when you're picking out Maid of Horror dresses"

"It's Made of Honor, Quinn"

"Same difference" I could practically see her shrugging, "Okay. My minutes are low. I'll see you later. Go get your girl!"

"Bye Quinn."

I stared at my phone for another second, before opening my laptop again. I took a deep breath and started reading the articles. I continued reading until about 4 minutes before her class was to end. Quickly, I packed up and hurried over to meet her.

I managed to get to her class just as the door was opening. Students were walking out chatting happily. I spotted her packing her items while talking to someone animatedly. I watched how she laughed and responded to him. Once she grabbed her bag, he followed her to the door still talking. Brittany had taken off her beanie and I found myself unable to look away. With the way her hair hung over her left eye accompanied with the smile on her face, it was just so captivating. As if she could feel my stare, she looked over to me. If I thought that prior smile was amazing, the one that took over her expression made my heart stop.

She likes me. For the first time, realization dawned on me. This beautiful person likes me.

She turned to her friend and said something before waving him off. She walked over to me and gave me a brief hug.

"San"

"Britt" I responded earning another smile.

"Are you hungry?" She asked.

"Starving" I admitted earning a giggle.

"Then let's go eat" She said grabbing my hand and leading me away.

We walked a few blocks away from the school into this cute café.

"Where did you find this place?" I asked. It was very tiny, but cozy. We took a seat by the window away from most of the other tables.

"After school, I walked around the area when I was hungry. I spotted this place and got a coffee." She answered. We both had coffee mugs in front of us, while we waited for our sandwiches. The smile on her face was so contagious, I couldn't wipe mine off. It was now or wait. Come on San, you know how you feel. Tell her. She picked up her coffee mug to take a sip.

"I like you Britt" I blurted. Oh my god, did I just blurt that out? I had to stop myself from banging my head on the table in embarrassment. I swallowed my pride and forced myself to keep my attention on the woman in front of me. She smiled into her coffee mug before putting it back on the table.

"San, I would hope so" She answered back with a knowing look.

"God I am so not good at this." I groaned.

"San, I'm the one that accidently stood you up this morning" she said with a smile. "So, compared to that…"

"Britt, you've more than made up for that" I laughed. Leave it up to her to boost my confidence, "Trust me, I'm not upset at that. I just..is.. Is this a date?" I asked feeling my cheeks burn. This time, she grabbed my hand from across the table.

"Well, that depends. Is that what you want this to be?" She asked softly. Did I? I didn't even have to think; it was a definite Yes.

My cheeks burned more as I nodded.

"Then it is." She answered simply.

"Really?" I couldn't help but ask.

"San. I like you too." She let out a soft laugh, "I would love for this to be a date. We already did part of this backwards anyway" She laughed.

She likes me. She said it. Oh my god. If I wasn't floating on clouds before, now I was. The rest of lunch was great. After her admission, I felt less nervous. I mean she already likes me, that means I've been doing something right for weeks.

"Wow, its already after 5" said a surprised Britt as she looked at her phone to answer a few texts. Our conversation had easily went back to classes, friends, and whatever else we could think of. It amazed me how much we could talk about. We both walked to the counter to pay. The cashier gave me the receipt and before Britt could take it, I gave him my card.

"San!"

"Yes" I responded innocently. She gave me a look, "I technically asked you on this umm date. So I pay." I said with as much confidence as I could muster under her look.  
At this, she relented "Fine, but I pay for the next one" she laughed. There's going to be another one? She wants there to be another one? Once paid and signed, she grabbed my hand. "Come on let's go home San"

The train ride went by fast and was by far one of the best yet. Due to it being rush hour, there were no seats, so we just stood against the door with her leaning against me. No words were needed.

We arrived back to our dorm and we found ourselves once again in front of my door. I put my bag down and leaned against the little crevice/ wall attached to the door and faced her.

"Thanks for a great day San" Said Britt.

"Thank you, Britt," I responded.

"For what?" She asked.

"Being you" I said meaning every word. Once again my cheeks burned and I knew I must be beet red by now. She smiled and closed the distance between us as my hands reflexively went to her waist. One of her hands rested itself on my waist, while her other brushed my cheek. It softly brushed my skin until it stopped at my chin tugging it up. I looked up into her eyes enjoying the warmth they made me feel. As my eyes closed our lips touched and this time, I felt electricity. Her hand moved from my chin to my neck, pulling me even closer. At this feeling, my knees jerked, causing me to lean on the wall more, causing me to accidently pull her with me; her body flushed completely against me and her hold on my waist tightened. I heard a noise in the background and couldn't care less. I was consumed with thoughts of just her and her incredibly soft and sweet tasting lips.

"Whoa!" gasped a voice "Well hello to you too" laughed Quinn loudly. Britt pulled her lips away from mine quickly, but due to my hold on her waist, stayed against me. I'm not sure if it was due to shock or confidence, I kept my hold on her. We both looked at Quinn who had a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Rachel!" Yelled Quinn loudly. As if on cue in a movie, A door nearby opens.

"Quinn, I'm not a dog! You can't just-oh my!" she squealed. My eyes locked with Rachel in the distance and could see the pure joy on her face. "Quinn, did you just interrupt them?" She accused. I looked back at Quinn who had a guilty look on her face. "Quinn!" she yelled.

"Could you two give us a minute?" Asked Britt as we shared a look.

"Yeah and could you not yell through the entire hall?" I asked finding my voice again. Once both were gone, I sighed. "Our friends suck"

"They have the best intentions" she laughed as I raised my eyebrows, "But yes, they do suck." She leaned forward once more and we shared one sweet kiss before she pulled away. I loosened my grip on her, allowing her to detach herself finally. "I'll see you at dinner?" she asked.

"Of course," I giggled. She walked away slowly and once again I found myself watching her go into her dorm. I definitely did not imagine this one. This time, I walked into my room confidently.

Author's Note: Thanks again for reading! I had to give those two a break. The tension was even driving me crazy lol. I'm trying to make her coming to terms with liking a female as realistic as I can. What do you think, is it realistic enough? I didn't want her to experience what I did though, you know taking like 10 years to finally admit my feelings and then another year (after several pushes by my best friends) to finally get the courage to come out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: I'll be moving in three weeks. So before that happens, I will try to get as many chapters as I can out because I will most likely be ridiculously busy after. After outlining the story, there will probably 14-15 chapters altogether.**

 **Chapter 8: Waiting for you to Make a Move**

"San, are you positive about this?" Asked Quinn.

"Yes!" I responded excitedly

"You know it will take like 3 weeks to heal?"

"Yes"

"As long as you're sure"

"I am!" I replied excitedly.

"Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way" Quinn said. She took a deep breath and then laughed", Oh my god I can't believe you're going to get a belly button ring!" She laughed, "it's just, I never thought I'd see the day"

"I always wanted one but was too scared. Why not do it now right?" I laughed, "Plus my mom would never see it."

"Yeah. Oh man. Mama Lopez will kill me! I bring you back, after nearly causing you to drown, introducing you to the beauty of strong wine, encourage you to make out with a girl and now to top it off a piercing." She said all of that in one breath, "when did you become a wild girl Lopez?" she joked. I thought back to this past weekend and the events from yesterday. She's right, in just a matter of a month I've managed to drink more than I've ever thought possible, do the most crazy things and even started dating a woman. At this, I smiled.

Yesterday As soon as I walked into the room I was questioned non-stop.

 _"So how was the kiss? I'm guessing you finally told her?" She asked while pacing, "Sheesh with that kiss you better have told her."_

 _"Quinn!" I yelled finally getting her attention. I giggled as she stopped pacing and finally took a seat on her bed. "Yes I told her. Well more like blurted it out during lunch. I think she already figured it out, but it felt nice to finally tell her." I rambled._

 _"Finally! So…"_

 _"She wants to go on another date."_

 _"Wait when was the first one?"_

 _"Today." I responded dreamily._

 _"Wow you two work fast."_

 _"Well technically we spent 1 month leading up to this point, so it doesn't feel that way. It kind of feels like we've done the awkward dating part already. " I shrugged. My mind kept replaying the few kisses we shared. I was definitely going against everything I believe or was forced to believe after all of these years, but for once it didn't matter. How could anyone try and take this feeling from me? This feeling of finally being happy. I've kissed so many different guys in the past and never have I once felt this way. I had started thinking that love was overrated._

 _"Wow San, you are so smitten" she said. "You have this drunk look on your face." She laughed._

 _"I feel drunk." I answered. At the same time both of our phones vibrated._

 _"Wow I guess Rachel got tired of texting us separately." I responded as I opened my home page. "Did you get the What's App invite?"_

 _"Yep." Answered Quinn. Within a few seconds we both entered the private chat room. I saw Quinn typing on her phone, but no message popped up._

 _A few minutes later, there was a loud knock on the door._

 _"Hey Rach!" I greeted as she entered._

 _Quinn looked over at her and smiled, while I looked past her until finally Britt entered behind her. She gave me a wide smile before walking over to me, sitting next me on my bed and then grabbing my hand._

 _"Hi" I said softly. We shared another smile._

 _"Hi"_

 _"Aww" said Rachel as she sat on a nearby chair. I felt my cheeks reddening, "they are too cute."_

 _"We can hear you, you know" I responded, still red._

 _"I know" she shrugged, "anyway, we were talking and realized, Spring Break is coming up. So, we need to figure out what we want to do!"_

 _That's right, spring break was a month away and it would be 2 whole weeks! "We don't have to plan now, I just wanted to give you the ideas so we can start brainstorming… let's say next week"_

 _"Are you giving us homework?" Asked Quinn._

 _"Hey it's not mandatory. Just don't be upset if you don't like any of our choices." Huffed Rachel._

"San!" Yelled Quinn, snapping her fingers. Snapped out of my daze, I looked at her. "You're up" she said pointing to the large man waiting at the door.

"Come with me" I begged as the reality of what I was about to do sunk in. My mom was absolutely 100% against additional piercings. I mean she felt homosexuality was a sin, but this was like a very close second. Quinn looked at the guy and he nodded. We followed him down the narrow flight of stairs until we reached his studio area.

"Take a seat" he said gruffly. Both Quinn and I instantly sat on the same large chair. "Not you blondie." He said. Quinn squeezed my hand and then went to the chair nearby.

"Will this hurt a lot Quinn? Did it hurt when you had yours?" Quinn smiled reassuringly at me. Before she could answer the man walked back to me.

"Pick up your shirt just a little" he said as he moved the chair into so I was lying down. I moved it up and stopped it just below my bra. "Okay don't move" he said quickly. I gave Quinn one last look before I felt a sharp pain. I had expected the pain to be a quick pinch. Little did I know, it would be a sharp pain for what felt like minutes. "All done" he said with a crooked smile. He then placed a bandage over it and gave both Quinn and I instructions.

We walked around the market, enjoying the breeze.

"Brittany is going to love your new ring" she giggled as we window shopped. I smiled at the thought.

"Don't tell her or give any types of hints." I warned. "I want it to be a surprise."

"Oh, you can trust me San." She answered with a hand over her heart. I looked at her suspiciously.

~.~

"Finally home!" Said a relieved Quinn. She dropped her bags onto her bed before rushing to the bathroom. I dropped my bags onto my desk and then grabbed my phone. It lit up, showing a new text in my 'Whats App' group.

 _'What's for dinner_?' Quinn wrote.

 _'Is that all you think about?_ ' replied Rachel.

 _'No she also thinks about_ bacon' I replied.

 _'and Coffee'_ added Britt

 _'Those are all part of the food category'_ texted Rachel.

 _'No, those are different food groups in my pyramid'_ texted Quinn.

 _'Of course they are' responded Rachel. 'Where are you?_ ' Asked Rachel

 _'We just got back from shopping'_ responded Quinn.

My phone vibrated again, this time it was a single text from Britt. Eagerly, I switched Apps and read my message.

 _'Hey San'_ texted Britt.

 _'Hey Britt. How's your day been?_ ' I responded.

 _'Good. Rachel is making me study downstairs. Are you coming down soon?'_ she asked.

 _'If Quinn would hurry up in the bathroom, then yes'_ I responded.

 _'Perfect. See you soon._ _'_

I closed my phone and looked back to the bathroom. "Quinn stop texting and hurry up!" I yelled while sorting through the items I bought.

"1 more minute!" She yelled back. I lifted my shirt and stared at the bandage. I couldn't wait until I could take it off. I always found belly button rings sexy, so hopefully she does too.

"Look at you admiring your stomach" laughed Quinn. She was drying her hands on her towel.

"I never thought I'd get one." I admitted with a smile forming on my mouth. I ran into the bathroom as soon as she walked to her desk.

10 minutes later we exited the elevator and walked to the lounge door. I had to force myself to walk at the same pace as Quinn, which seemed to be a snail's pace today. We entered the lounge and spotted our friends immediately. Rachel and Britt were sitting at the long picnic styled table. Both were sitting across from one another and had their laptop strewn about on the table with textbooks. Britt had her back to me and was currently leaning over her textbook, underlining something with her pencil with her headphones in her ears, bobbing her head to a song. I smiled, enjoying how adorable she looked before walking over to her. I didn't want to startle her too much, so when I was close enough, I squeezed her shoulder softly before taking the open seat to her left.

"Hey Rachel" I greeted. Quinn took a seat next to Rachel, pushing all of her books to one corner in one quick move.

"San!" exclaimed a surprised Britt. She smiled brightly at me before she took her earphones off and leaning over to kiss my cheek.

"Hey Britt" I said, feeling my cheeks darken before grabbing her left hand.

"I didn't think you two could be more sickeningly cute. Yep I was wrong" joked Quinn earning a glare from me.

"Oh leave them alone." Said Rachel shooing Quinn. "Plus at least it happened naturally. Imagine if you actually went through with your plan."

"Plan?" I asked. I looked at Britt who was looking over her textbook again, her pencil in her right hand. Luckily, she was right handed because her left hand was currently busy caressing my right hand, drawing circles around my knuckles.

"Quinn was considering locking you two in that service elevator until you finally kissed" said Rachel getting my attention.

"Really?" I glared.

"What? In my defense, I was tired of seeing you two give each other heart eyes" She shrugged, "Little did I know the heart eyes would only get worse" she laughed.

"I doubt that San would have kissed me in your plan" laughed Britt who was taking notes in her notebook.

"Well duh. This plan solely relied on you. She would have been freaking out and then you could make your move" winked Quinn, "You are the one that makes the moves anyway"

"Why are we discussing this again?" I asked feeling embarrassed. I don't need a reminder of my shyness. Still , it did catch me by surprise to hear Britt talking so carefree about us or just in general about this. It made me wonder if she was holding back before for my comfort. As nice as it was to hear her banter with Quinn, I wish it wouldn't be on my behalf.

"Come on Quinn. Be nice. San would have made her move…eventually" said Rachel giving me a thumbs up.

"Psh" snorted Quinn, "In what lifetime?"

"Seriously, I'm right here!" I said. I chanced a look at Britt and saw her giving me a sympathetic smile. "Not you too" I groaned.

"Sorry San. You were getting there." she replied, squeezing my hands as Quinn let out a loud laugh.

"Can we not talk about this?" I begged.

"Did you order the food Quinn?" asked Rachel.

"Yep. Pizza is on its way"

"We are eating pizza?" I asked

"Yeah. Didn't you check the group texts?"

"What type did you get"

"Don't worry San, we ordered some with Pineapple and bacon" said Britt.

"Extra Bacon" said Quinn.

"Of course"

"So, Did you two bring your homework?" asked Rachel. Quinn and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"Uh no" I responded.

"Yeah, I was sort of dragged downstairs fast by this one. I wonder why." said Quinn sarcastically.

At this, I blushed. I swear, any game I might possibly have Quinn squishes. I felt Britt squeeze my hand reassuringly again.

"Quinn!" I yelped, throwing the closest thing I could find at her. The paper ball smacked her right in the face earning a laugh from both Britt and Rachel to roll her eyes. "Watch it or I'll have Rachel hide your bacon again?" I joked earning a glare from Quinn.

"It was one time. Let it go!" exclaimed Rachel who turned red.

"Yes, one time better be all" growled Quinn. "Oh that reminds me, I was thinking about Spring Break." said Quinn.

"Bacon makes you think of Spring Break?" I asked receiving another glare and a few giggles. "I'm kind of worried of where you plan to drag us then" She glared again before throwing the paper back at me.

"What would you all think about visiting parts of Europe?"

"Like where?" I asked curiously.

"Well that we can all decide on" She shrugged, "Apparently, it's pretty easy to travel when you are in Europe to different countries on the continent"

"I like it" I answered

"Same" replied Britt.

"That sounds great! We can all list 5 countries we want to visit and then we will compare and decide then." Squealed Rachel. "Good job Quinn!" She practically yelled.

"Make sure one of them has a beach of course" said Quinn as she winked at me. My cheeks burned as I squirmed slightly, moving the bandage on my stomach.

"Won't it be too cold for the beach?" asked Rachel.

"Maybe, maybe not" Laughed Quinn.

An hour Later, I went upstairs to get my laptop and study material. Britt insisted that she needed to get more snacks and accompanied me. We walked hand in hand to my room first. As I held the door open for her, I felt goosebumps form. This was the first-time Britt and I were alone in my room since we started dating yesterday. I took a deep breath and tried not to allow my nerves get the better of me. Britt was standing near Quinn's desk, staring at some of her photos that she had taped to the back of it. I grabbed my bag from my hanger near the closet before walking towards my desk where all my books lay.

"You and Quinn have been friends for a long time" She said more to herself than me.

"Yes, way too long" I laughed as I placed some of the books in my bag, "Just like you and Rachel"

"True, but we grew up in a small area. I always wondered how you two met. New York City is a large place after all" Said Britt as she put the photo down. I packed my laptop and charger quickly into the bag before placing it on my chair. I walked over to Britt and stared at some of the photos on the Board. Finally, I found the photo I was looking for and turned to Britt.

"We met in middle school, I became friends almost immediately with a girl named Daniella, Dani for short" I said handing her the photo. It was one taken during our 8th grade camping trip. Dani and I were sitting on a log with Quinn sitting nearby, all surrounding a campfire. "Quinn had also become friends with Dani since they shared homeroom together and were assigned seats together." I took a breath so I could continue, "All three of us were even in the same class 6-7C. So, it was inevitable that we became friends." I laughed thinking back, "Quinn and I only tolerated each other at first, but during 8th grade we became closer and then by high school we were inseparable" I said.

"What ever happened to Dani?" Asked Britt curiously, "Are you all still friends?" I nodded before my closing my eyes a little.

"We are still friends, but not as close as before. She went to a different high school"

"Oh, I see. I guess it is hard for friends to stay close when they go to different schools" said Britt.

"Her school was two blocks away from ours." I laughed bitterly. "Quinn and I went to the same High School. I guess we understood each other better. She's like the twin I wished I had. I mean our birthdays are ever 4 days apart."

"I'm glad you have her." Said Britt as she put the photo back on the board.

"Same. We all need our own Quinn. Just like you have Rachel" I said with a smile earning a laugh from Britt. I could listen to her laugh all day and I'd be happy. As great as this was, I did feel that we needed to have more of a talk though. There was still so much that was unsaid. I walked over to my bed and paced a little, getting her attention. "Britt." She watched me curiously when I took a deep breath as I gathered my thoughts. "I've never kissed or dated a girl before…ever. You're my first" I admitted before staring at my hands.

"Oh San" She responded. I felt my bed shift and continued to stare at my hands. I felt her nudge my arm, so I finally turned to look at her. She had this soft smile on her face that made me melt a little. "I can't say you're the first girl I've ever liked, but you're the first I've ever wanted to pursue." She admitted softly

"Does that mean-"

"I kissed a girl once. In summer camp when I was 13. Well more like she kissed me" she answered. "But after that no. I've never dated one or tried to have a relationship."

"Oh."

"Have you ever liked a girl before?" Britt asked hesitantly. This time I looked back at her. I didn't want to lie. Whatever this was, I didn't want it to start off on lies.

I nodded before answering, "Yes. Once." She nodded back in understanding, but I just felt the need to tell her. "She was my best friend." I bit my lip as I saw Britt's eyes scrunch, "Not Quinn" I laughed as I saw Britt look at Quinn's bed. She looked back at me and then I saw it, the recognition.

"Dani?" She asked. I nodded in response. "Oh. Is that why your friendship fell apart?"

"I think so. I mean, nothing ever happened and eventually I got over it."

"San, are you into boys too?" Asked Britt hesitantly.

"I honestly don't know. I've only ever dated boys, plenty of them." I responded, "But I never liked any of them for that long." I answered. I felt tense, worried that maybe I was telling her too much too soon. Maybe this was stuff you're supposed to admit later into the relationship?

"Thank you for telling me this" said Britt as if reading my mind. "I know how hard it is for you to talk about this." She grabbed my hand comfortingly.

"I wanted you to know before we go any further. Whatever this is…I want it" I said. Her eyes lit up and she scooted closer to me. "I just really- Umm- Can I kiss you?" I practically stuttered. I have no idea what we are. Am I allowed to just kiss her? Was that like okay just yesterday because it was so new? I really suck at this.

At this she laughed, "San, you don't have to ask. You can kiss me whenever you want. Nothing's changed since-" I had heard everything I needed to hear. I leaned over fast and kissed her. One of my hands used the bed to anchor myself, while the other rested on her thigh. After the initial surprise, I felt her lips respond eagerly. Her hands wrapped around my neck as the kiss grew more heated. All other thoughts left my head until the only thing remaining was Britt. My senses were overwhelmed with the taste and feel of her lips. The sweet scent of her perfume only made me want more of her. When her tongue, brushed my lips, any control I had was lost. As my lips parted allowing her entrance, I could feel this fire start burning in the pit of my stomach and before I knew what was happening, I was hovering over her. I've never felt this burning want for someone. All my feelings of angst, worry, and fear that I'd experienced in the last few weeks were pouring out of me with every kiss and touch. When the need for air started to become a necessity, I slowly pulled back from her. Seeing her blonde hair splayed against my bed and her red flushed cheeks made my head spin. She opened her eyes and smiled softly back at me. Her hands moved from my neck to my cheek as we stared at each other enjoying the moment.

"You're so beautiful" I admitted. I blushed realizing what I just said. When did I become such a mush? Britt was going to say something, but then my phone vibrated making both of us laugh.

"We seriously need to shut off our phones when we are alone." I sighed

"Agreed" I looked at her one last time, hoping to store the image of her like this in my memory. Then, I felt her hand brush my cheek and before I knew it was suddenly being pulled down into a kiss. It ended too quick, but still made my heart stop. My phone then vibrated again, reminding me of the unread message. I shook my head and disentangled myself from Britt reluctantly. I looked at my phone and was not surprised to see a message from Quinn. I couldn't contain the loud chuckle that escaped my mouth when I saw the messages.

 _'You two better not be making out on my bed'_

 _'Bring me some gummy bears while you're there'_

~.~

Two weeks had passed and Quinn and I were sitting in our room doing some of the planning for Spring Break. Her Friday class had ended early so we met up after she returned home an hour ago. We had all decided on visiting, France, Italy and Spain. Unfortunately, Quinn and I were assigned hotel/hostel searches and the accompanying transportation, while Rachel and Britt had to search for things to do. In all fairness, our job was probably easier, but with everything being in different languages we were ready to throw our laptops and quit.

"How about these three" she said as she copied the links to the Microsoft Word document.

"Are we sure we want to stay in Hostels?"

"That's what the group decided on" she shrugged, "can't be that bad?"

"You were there when I watched the movie Hostel and Hostel 2, right?" I asked remembering those gory movies.

"San stop being dramatic. It will be ok. This trip is going to be awesome" I nodded in agreement, but still didn't like the idea of staying in hostels.

"So now the big question is where will you be sleeping?" She asked watching me curiously.

"Umm what?" I asked confused, wondering where that came from. "Big question?Why are you thinking about this?"

"Well for the Paris hostel, the price is per bed, not by person."

"Okay" I asked.

"So... it's cheaper if two people share a bed." She smirked, "Not to mention, you might finally get to second base"

"Quinn! Is that all you think about?" I laughed.

"Like you don't think about it" She laughed.

"Umm well." I responded blushing again causing Quinn to nearly push her laptop off her lap. "She found my belly button ring"

"Oh my god when?!"

 _My mind went back to that moment this past Wednesday. I had just finished showering and brushing my teeth when I heard a knock on the door._

" _Just a second" I yelled as I threw my pajama bottoms on, grabbing a hoodie from the hook before running to the door. I tugged the sweater over my head before opening the door. "Hey Britt. I thought we were meeting for breakfast at 9?" I asked her. She was standing in front of me already dressed for the day. "Umm Britt, are you okay?" I asked as I realized she hadn't moved. That's when I noticed, I was wearing a pair of shorts and her eyes were glue to my legs. Immediately, I felt a mixture of some embarrassment with a surprising amount confidence. "Like what you see?" I asked playfully. Her gaze then moved to my lips and before I could prepare for it, she pushed me inside, closed the door and her lips were on mine. Immediately, her tongue brushed mine, sending a wave of energy through my body. She pressed forward effectively walking me backwards until my legs hit my bed, sending me sprawling onto it, taking her with me. Her kisses intensified as she hovered above me leaving my hands on her hips. The feeling of her on top of me was creating a bubbling feeling in the pit of my stomach and I couldn't stop my hands from moving frantically caressing her back then back to her hips. I gasped when I felt her hands touch my bare thigh, causing me to jerk slightly towards her. Her confidence only increased as she continued to rub my thigh. That feeling in the pit of my stomach only increased and I suddenly felt the need for more of her. My hands went to the opening of her shirt and moved it upwards allowing my hands room to reach underneath. My hands touched the soft skin on her back and it's like another wave of electricity shot off and kisses became more frantic, while touches more confident. Her hand moved from my thigh and up to my waist agonizingly slow until It found the opening of my sweater. Her fingers tugged it up allowing her hand to touch my bare skin. Her eyes flew open and her lips detached slightly from mine as she felt the skin._

" _You're not wearing anything underneath this?" She whispered against my lips. I shook my head, still dazed. Before I could recover, her lips were back on mine with even more passion and her hand traveled slowly across my bare waist until I felt a little bit of pain. I winced slightly and then realized why. Immediately, she stopped and pulled out of the kiss. Her eyes stared down at my stomach that was now exposed._

" _When did you get this?" She asked curiously running her hand around the skin of the ring._

" _Umm 2 weeks ago" I said nervously awaiting her reaction._

" _I don't remember seeing it during the trip" she answered as she continued to play with the surrounding skin._

"Y _eah I got it done that Tuesday." I answered breathlessly. She bit her lip and looked at me._

" _You're going to drive me crazy" She whispered kissing me gently._

" _Does this mean you like it?" I asked as she pulled out of the kiss._

" _It's sexy." She whispered sending waves of fire through my body. "Is it still healing?" She asked to which I nodded. She continued to rub circles around it, but refrained from touching it._

" _So not that I'm complaining or anything, but did you come here for anything else, other than to feel me up so early in the morning?" I asked still catching a breath. She laughed softly at this._

" _Well I was going to ask if you wanted to go out for breakfast and coffee." She laughed "I don't think I need coffee anymore though"_

" _Me neither" I could stare into her eyes all day "I should dress like this more often" I joked earning a laugh._

 _She leaned in and smirked, "If you do, I don't think we'll ever get anything done" She then kissed me again._

"It wasn't exactly second base. I don't really know what it was" I admitted, blushing at the memory. "Britt and I haven't really spoken about it" I stuttered.

"But that's good. To think, my little girl is finally growing up." said Quinn, pretending to brush a tear away.

"Quinn. We haven't exactly talked about doing that yet" I said.

"Doing what?" She asked

"You know what" I said rolling my eyes.

"I want to hear you say it San." She exclaimed. "You've hard a girlfriend for 2 weeks. If you ever want to have sex then you have to say the word!" I looked away embarrassed.

"Quinn. I- Britt and I never actually made anything official."

"What?" She asked surprised. "So, what exactly are you two then?"

"Dating, I guess?" I asked.

She snorted at this, "Oh please. You two have been practically dating since you met." Quinn looked deep in thought, "So are you two even exclusive at least?" That's a great question that has been on my mind all week.

"Honestly, I'm not sure" I admitted, "In my eyes we are. I don't want to see anyone else but her."

"San. You two need to have a long talk." she sighed.

"We are just seeing where this is going right now. This is a new thing for both of us."

"This is so unlike you." She said shaking her head, "Why are you so worried? San you got the girl already and she's already really smitten with you. Just talk to her!" said Quinn animatedly. "Please tell me you know she's smitten with you." She laughed as she stared at my expression. "You are so incredibly clueless."

"I just don't want to put any unwanted pressure on her. I'm happy with us right now" I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"As long as you're happy San"

"I am" I replied. I knew deep down that Quinn was right. I did want more with Britt. I wanted to know that I'm the only person she was with and I wanted to be her official girlfriend. We would have to figure out what we were, hopefully before this trip.

I mean, these last two weeks with Britt had been nothing short of amazing. I was slightly worried that this would change our friendship too much, but after a few days I realized it only made it so much better. Our friendship was still there, but now there was so much more intimacy involved that just made everything so much better. Slowly, we both became even more comfortable with the new step in our relationship and in part with one another. It's almost like Britt was so in tune with my feelings and always managed to get rid of my insecurities when they threatened to surface. In addition, I noticed a change in Britt. Her somewhat quiet demeanor had changed drastically in the last two weeks. Her and Quinn started hanging out more and of course now whenever Quinn made a joke about us, Britt was always ready with a comeback. It's almost like whatever wall was there, disappeared

"Okay San" Said Quinn as she interrupted my thoughts, "So our Excel document is ready as well as the Microsoft Word one. I hope the girls like it."

"Yeah. I'm sure they will" I replied. I felt a soft vibration and noticed a new text from Britt. As I answered it, Quinn closed her laptop.

"Well they better or else they can do the research." Huffed Quinn as she looked at her phone. "Okay. We must meet them in a few minutes. Let's go. I don't feel like hearing Berry complain." I nod in agreement. We pack up our items and head to Rachel and Britt's room.

"Hey girls" Greeted Rachel as she opened the door for us. "Britt's not here yet. She should be soon. Than we can start" said Rachel more towards me than Quinn. I checked my phone again.

"She just got off the train." I said after replying to my text from her.

"Perfect." answered Rachel. Quinn sat on Rachel's bed and immediately opened her laptop. I mimicked her actions, but instead sat on Britt's bed. "So, San have you finished your papers yet?" Asked Rachel from the bathroom. I had been working on them the last week, attempting to complete all as soon as I could; however, they were turning out to be pretty difficult.

"Almost. I'm almost done with my Modern History and finished the Holocaust one this morning. But my South Africa Apartheid paper and romantic poetry ones are proving to be harder than I expected." I said. "Luckily, those won't be due until right before break" I said releasing a sigh. The door then opened revealing an out of breath Brittany.

"Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late. My Professor would not stop talking!" She apologized in between breaths while putting her bag onto her desk chair along with her jacket.

"No worries Britt. We just got here" said Quinn waving her hand. Her focus was currently on her computer.

"Oh good!" sighed Britt.

"Did you hand in your paper Britt?" I asked curiously.

"Yes!" She said grabbing her laptop and taking her spot next to me, "Thanks again for editing it" she said gratefully before pecking my lips.

"Oh, good Britt you're here!" Said Rachel excitedly as she exited her bathroom. "We can start!" She took a seat next to Quinn and opened her laptop. "Okay, I sent you each an email."

I opened the email and opened the attachment. In a Word document, there were pages full of pictures and detail of things to do. The first three pages were proposed agendas with hyperlinks to the websites.

"We think you should look over this later and see what we would be interested in doing." Said Britt.

"Yeah good idea" Agreed Quinn as she looked through the pages quickly skimming them.

"Perfect! So let us know by Monday, so we can start planning" said Rachel. "But we should start booking the hostels and transportation today."

"Agreed, I just sent you each an email with the options" said Quinn quickly. I already had the document and spreadsheet open, so we gave Britt and Rachel some time to open them.

"I didn't get anything" pouted Britt.

"Oh that's weird, I know I sent it" said Quinn looking through her emails.

"Here, you can just look over mine. I did most of the research anyway so I know it all" I suggested with a shrug. Britt smiled in agreement and allowed me to place my laptop partially in her lap too.

"Okay good." Said Quinn, "The spreadsheet shows the prices, room types, amenities, etc. If you open the word document you'll see the details."

"Oh wow!" said Rachel as she poured through the files. Britt was leaning over me slightly so she could look through it too.

"So we gave a few choices to stay at per area."

"I see" answered Rachel, "What's the difference between the first two places in Paris?"

"It's more pricing and location" I answered. "The first one is closer to the touristy part of Paris, but it's more expensive and is per person. The second one is near a train station, but farther away the touristy areas."

"Oh that's not bad though" said Rachel.

"Yes. As long as If it's near a train" added Britt.

"It's maybe 2 minutes from the nearest train." said Quinn.

"What's the price then?" Asked Rachel

"Well that's the thing." started Quinn, "it's small. So the only available rooms are a 3 person, 6 person or 9 person."

"Oh"

"Yes and they fill the rooms up. So if we choose a 6 person room up they'd fill it with 2 other people if needed" responded Quinn. "The good thing is, It's priced per bed, not per person" I stared at the laptop screen waiting for the girls to catch on.

"Oh, so we can book the 3-bed room then?" Asked Rachel.

"Yes" I responded.

"One person would just have to share" finished Quinn.

"Oh I get it" said Rachel.

"So that's an option if we didn't want any unwanted people in this room." I said quickly.

"I like that option better" said Rachel excitedly.

"Same" agreed Quinn. "What about you Britt" she asked earning a warning look from me.

"I don't see a problem with it." She shrugged.

"Great. So we can book that room." said Quinn. "So should we draw straws to see who will be the lucky two sharing a bed?" I could practically feel Rachel and Quinn's eyes on me.

"Really you two?" I said getting annoyed.

"Well you two are dating" said Rachel matter of factly. "Don't you want to share a bed with Britt"

My nerves were on full throttle at the moment and I couldn't help but stutter, "Well, that's beside the point. I-"

"If you don't mind, then I don't" Said Britt softly, grabbing my hand to get my attention.

"Really?" I asked surprised.

"Of course silly" laughed Britt.

"Oh okay." I said slowly, "Umm okay so me and Britt can share it then" I stuttered to Quinn.

"Awesome" Said Quinn, "Okay so for the next rooms"

By the time we were done it was already well into the night and all of us were exhausted.

We had decided on all the modes of transportation and had booked them as well as all of the rooms.

"Finally done!" exclaimed Rachel sleepily.

"Only took like 4 hours" groaned Quinn.

"Hey at least we purchased everything!" Said an excited Britt. I could feel her practically jumping in excitement.

"True." nodded Quinn.

"Wow, so we are really going to Europe" It's like the realization just hit me. I mean we only spent 4 hours purchasing things, yet it took me this long for the idea to settle.

"We really are!" laughed Quinn. "No backing out now"

"Too bad Marley couldn't join us" Said Rachel as she leaned back into her bed

"Crap, I just realized I'm supposed to video chat with the cousins today!" said Quinn as she jumped up and started grabbing her belongings.

"Isn't it too late? It's already midnight" said Rachel causing me and Quinn to laugh.

"That's the time my cousins normally meet up" she said with a smirk, "Friday is family night"

At this I almost snorted, "You mean sneak some alcohol into the twins bedroom and drink time, while your parents hung out"

"Hey it promotes bonding. We all have a bond that we will share forever now."

"More like too many embarrassing memories that will last forever" I joked

We all laughed as she ran out the room.

"Alright you two, I'm going to head out too. If I don't, she will be back." I laughed, "With her laptop in hand and loud drunk cousins." I said as I closed my laptop and stood up.

"I'll walk you out San" said Britt jumping up to follow me.

"Goodnight San!" yelled Rachel as I waved at her.

She opened her door and followed me out. Just as I exited the room, I turned to Britt and was met with her soft lips with the door closing behind us. They never failed to turn my mind into mush. Will it always feel like this? I wouldn't know, I've never enjoyed any of the guys I dated enough to see them for more than 2 months and even then, we never kissed this much or were anything as close to intimate. When the need for air became important, she pulled away.

"What's going on in your head right now?" She asked, our foreheads still touching.

I blushed a little, "Umm honestly, how much I enjoy kissing you." I was slowly getting better with admitting my feelings more openly with her. That didn't make it any less hard though.

"Good because I like kissing you too" She said releasing a small chuckle. She gave me one last peck to my lips before detaching herself. "Are you okay with the sleeping arrangements for the trip?" She asked. I was expecting this to come up, but it still didn't stop the nerves from surfacing.

"If you're okay with them" I said. She shook her head and placed her hand over cheek, caressing it lightly.

"I'm not asking about me San. I want to know your thoughts"

"I just don't want you to feel pressured" I admitted, enjoying the comforting feeling her hand was bringing.

"Why would I?" She asked gently, allowing me to voice my concerns.

"I don't know. I just don't want you to feel forced into doing anything. Rachel and Quinn just have their own opinions. I don't want them forced onto us."

"San I wouldn't agree to anything unless I'm sure." reassured Britt, "The question Is, are you sure?" So, she didn't feel peer pressured? I felt relief finally wash over me. I allowed myself to think about what it would be like to spend some time by myself with Britt, no interruptions.

After a few seconds I responded, "I am." the thought of waking up next to her sounded great. "I've just never done that before…ever." My eyes widened as I realized what I just admitted. Britt looked at me in surprise.

"When you say done that. You mean, you've never shared a bed?"

"Well Quinn doesn't count" I joked lightly. "So, no I've never shared a bed with anyone."

"Does that mean that you've never-" Britt asked as she stopped caressing my cheek.

"Umm no…I'm a virgin" I admitted the last part reluctantly.

"With girls or both?" Asked Britt curiously.

"umm both" I replied nervously. Britt's eyes were wide and her mouth agape. "Why is that everyone's reaction?" I muttered. She still didn't say anything and I was getting worried. "Say something… please" I pleaded. Britt closed her mouth and stared at me with a look I couldn't interpret.

"Sorry. I'm just surprised." Said Britt, "I just sometimes can't believe that you weren't swooped away by someone else before me."

"Will this be a problem?" I asked hesitantly

"No, why would it be?" She asked curiously, "Now I know if we get to that point, that I'll just have to be extra careful with you and make it more special." She said thoughtfully.

It will be special If it's you I thought, but wasn't ready to say. "You make everything sound so simple and easy"

"Well relationships are never simple and easy" she laughed.

"Is that what this is?" I asked once again surprising myself. She rose her eyebrows at me. "Please don't say 'is that what I want'" I said weakly. At this Britt laughed.

"Baby look at me." I looked at her quickly. She's never called me a pet name before. "I just want you. I didn't realize that I should have probably made sure we were both on the same page" she said. "Is that why you were so worried about sharing a bed?" I nodded.

"Are we exclusive?"

"Yes. I wish you would have come to me sooner if you were unsure." she laughed pulling my body closer to hers. "San I wouldn't kiss you the way I have been if we weren't" I smiled at her as our lips touched and felt so much more relief. But still, I knew that I wanted to be more than just exclusive. I pulled away from her lips, leaving a little space between us.

"What if I wanted to be your girlfriend?" I asked biting my lip in anticipation, while she looked at me intensely.

"I'd love to be your girlfriend San" she answered softly.

"Yes?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes" she laughed. I couldn't stop the large smile that formed on my face. Without hesitation, I pulled her to me and kissed my girlfriend.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Moving, job searching and parenting a 5 month old puppy has been tough. Enjoy the chapter :)

Chapter 9: Giving you All My Love

The next two weeks had flown by too fast for all of us. Unfortunately, Spring break was set right after midterms, so all of us spent more time studying then doing anything else. For me, since all my classes required papers rather than any testing, I spent most of my time in the library or pouring through all of my books in the lounge.

"Finally!" I sighed, placing my hands through my ponytail. "Done!" I clicked the send button and watched as the confirmation displayed on my screen.

"That's great!" said Britt excitedly. She was currently leaning against my pillow which was perched against the wall on my bed, while I was sprawled out next to her, laying on stomach with my laptop in front of me facing the same wall. I closed it quietly, hoping not to wake Quinn.

"What time is it?" I asked trying to stifle a yawn. Britt looked away from her book and glanced at her phone.

"1:09AM" She answered nonchalantly before turning back to her book. As she continued reading, I flipped over so I was resting on my back, head resting next to the pillow she was leaning on. I felt her hand caress my hair as I closed my eyes.

"I can't believe it's so late. Hun, you should be sleeping" I said softly looking up at her. She had a small smile playing at her lips as she stared at the page.

"It's okay San, I wanted to spend the time with you and needed to catch up with my own reading" She shrugged. I smiled at her words. These last few weeks had been so stressful and although we had spent every day together, we were nearly always surrounded by Quinn, Rachel and our textbooks. These personal moments were rare since midterms started.

"Thank you" I responded. I glanced over at Quinn and noticed she was still sleeping soundly before looking back at Britt. Her eyes were still scanning her book. I leaned over on my side and watched Britt for a moment. Her hair was in a ponytail, side bang creating more of a messy look. She was dressed in sweats and a thin hoodie. Wait…that's my thin hoodie. Even like this, I couldn't stop thinking about how gorgeous she looked. "Are you staying tonight?" I asked. Britt and I still hadn't spent a night together, but we had fallen asleep together, napping on hers and my bed a few times due to exhaustion. She looked away from her book and smiled at me.

"If I go to sleep now, I probably won't wake up at 3 to catch the train." She responded. "If you want, you can go to sleep." I shook my head, took her book before she could protest and placed it gently on the bed near her still open.

"I'd rather do this" I smirked, leaning over to catch her lips. Our lips connected and I felt that familiar tingling in the pit of my stomach that I was now growing used to. Before the kiss could become too heated, we pulled away. "I am so glad midterms are over"

"Me too" She answered as I tried to stifle a yawn. "San you should get some rest. You've been working non-stop on these papers"

"But- I don't want to" I pouted. "I want to spend more time with you" I admitted.

"Baby, you will be spending an entire two weeks with me" She laughed.

"Yes, you...and Rachel and Quinn" I pouted, "I meant just you. No studying, group hangouts; just us"

"We will spend some time alone together after break. I promise" She said softly before cupping my cheek with her hand and placing a soft kiss to my lips. Before I could protest, she jumped off the bed. "Now you, get some sleep. I will see you in two hours" She said. She leaned over onto the bed and gave me one last kiss before putting her shoes back and leaving the room.

~.~

Three hours later, a very sleepy Rachel, Quinn, Britt and I were seated aboard the underwater train to Paris. Rachel and Britt sat together, leaving me with a very wide-awake Quinn.

"San, I don't see why you are studying French" Laughed Quinn, "You are such a dork"

"Quinn, we are travelling to another country that prides themselves on their language. It's rude to not at least try to learn some phrases" I said.

"English is everywhere San, it's universal" She said rolling her eyes.

Just then an announcement in French is heard. I rose my eyebrows are Quinn.

"Oh shut it" She waved her hands off. She glanced at the seat across from us. "So how are you feeling?" She asked

"Good, why?"

"You seemed down this week. More like frustrated actually"

"Oh, you know school does that to me"

"So it has nothing to do with what we spoke about last week?" She asked curiously. I blushed thinking back to our conversation.

 _"Quinn. How did you know you were ready?" I asked. Quinn and I were studying in our rooms late at night. She looked at me clear surprise written on her face._

 _"For what?" she asked slowly._

 _I took a deep breath, "sex" I answered._

 _She looked at me surprised. "Uh I don't know. You just know" She answered weakly. "When Finn and I had sex, he was my first. It just happened. He didn't even know he was my first until later" She shrugged, "What brings this up"_

 _"I just" I started. "The more time I spend with her, the more she makes me feel things" I answered._

 _"Things?"_

 _"I don't know how to describe it" I said, "It's like, I get this incredible rush. I've never felt anything like it._

 _"What am I going to do with you San." She shook her head, "That is called being horny" I could feel my cheeks burn. "Do you get this feeling like you're going to implode unless you touch her?" She asked. I nodded slightly, feeling slightly uncomfortable "Oh my god! San you're finally going to have sex. I thought I was going to have to wait until we are old like 26."_

 _"Hey!"_

"I don't know. Can you get frustrated from that?" I asked hesitantly. Quinn threw her head into her hands "Wait, what did I say?" I asked feeling my cheeks burn again.

"How have you had this many boyfriends and not know what it feels like to be horny or sexually frustrated?" She asked.

"Maybe because I wasn't physically attracted to them?" I asked defensively. "Maybe because I never really liked boys at all." I hadn't said the words out loud yet, but deep down I knew how I felt.

"Oh" She answered in surprise, "So, you are... gay then?"

"Ugh Quinn. I would prefer not labeling it. But if it needs to be labeled, I think the correct label is lesbian."

There I said it! Once said, the weight on my shoulders felt a little less heavy.

"Wow San. I'm glad you finally figured it out" She said, patting my shoulder. "So now back to the issue at hand. You are probably sexually frustrated. Have you two talked about being more intimate"

"I know we both have that understanding that if it happens, then it does. But with midterms these last few weeks, we barely spent any time alone together. When we did, we were too exhausted for anything." I sighed. "Plus, I'm just so nervous"

"Why?"

"Won't it hurt? Also I wouldn't know what to do." I said biting my lip nervously.

"San what exactly would hurt? Unless she has some parts that are questionable." She rose her eyebrows at me, "Do you need me to pull up another diagram?" She asked making my eyes widen. If I thought parents giving the sex talk was embarrassing, try having your semi-tech savvy best friend open a find a 3D diagram online of a woman's anatomy.

I shook my head groaning, "No. That experience should only be lived through once in a lifetime, thank you!"

"San, don't worry so much about this. You like her. Plus I'm sure she would be able to help you when the time comes." Laughed Quinn, "I mean you chose a Biology major. Anatomy should be her specialty right?" Laughed Quinn causing me to laugh.

"Thanks Quinn" I laughed, "I don't know what I'd do without you"

"Well you'd die a virgin" She joked, nudging my shoulder earning a loud laugh from me. Embarrassed, I ducked my head slightly and looked over at Britt and Rachel. Britt was sound asleep, while Rachel was shaking her head at us.

~.~

"Okay, I think it's this way" said a very confident Quinn. Rachel rolled her eyes before looking at Britt who was zooming into something on her IPhone.

"Actually, it's that way" Said Britt, pointing to the other street.

"What? How would you know?" asked Quinn.

"Well, since Britt and I were in charge of activities and due to how helpless you two are at navigating, we downloaded a bunch of Google offline maps on our phones. Britt took care of France and parts of Italy. I have Spain and other areas of Italy" Answered a smug Rachel.

"Well thank goodness you two thought of that" I laughed watching Quinn's surprised expression. "Who knows how long it would have taken us to find this place?" We followed Britt's phone, excitement radiating through all of us. We laughed and giggled through the entire walk as we took in our surroundings.

"Are you sure this is it?" Asked Rachel.

"Yes" replied Britt as she put her phone away. Quinn and I shared a glance as we all stood in front of this little dingy bar. Rachel looked at us for further confirmation.

"This is it" I laughed nervously.

"Hey! Don't look at us like that. We told you it was small and dingy. It's a hostel!" said Quinn in an accusatory voice towards Rachel who held her hands up in surrender. Quinn then opened the door and ushered all of us inside. She and Rachel took charge and went to the front desk to check us in, while Britt and I sat near the door with all of our luggage. Not long after they returned with one key.

"Is that the only key we get?" I asked.

"Yes. Apparently this is the only key, so whenever we leave we have to leave the copy with the front desk" said Quin hesitantly.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"It's okay. We will just carry our valuables with us, hidden of course" said Britt comfortingly to us three. Her voice was almost enough to put me at ease. As if she could read my thoughts, she grabbed my hand and rubbed circles on my knuckles. I smiled gratefully at her before turning back to Quinn.

"Okay, so how do we get to the room" I asked.

We followed Quinn to the door near the bar desk. After walking with our heavy luggage up the narrow spiraling staircase, we found our room. Upon opening it all of us just stared.

"I think this is the size of our sophomore year dorm" I said warily to Quinn.

"Smaller, I think" She agreed. The room was literally a narrow space big enough to hold the triple bunk against the wall with a small closet and window that took nearly the entire wall. Britt and I glanced at each other and then back at the triple bunk. It literally looked like a regular bunk bed, but with another thin bed added under the bottom bunk, practically on the floor. As if in sync, Britt threw her purse onto the middle bed, while I practically threw myself on it. Upon seeing our actions, Quinn ran to the ladder and threw her bookbag onto it before climbing up and claiming the top bunk.

"Hey!" whined Rachel, "No fair" she pouted as she eyed the bottom bed warily. She walked slowly to the bed and peaked at it. "eww, it smells weird." She complained. Britt and I laughed before sitting up in the bed, our feet hanging off the side.

"So where to first?" I asked excitedly.

~.~

Hours later we all walked around the city until we made it to the Eifel Tower.

"Whoa" I said from underneath the Tower. Pictures don't do it justice. Britt grabbed my hand before agreeing.

"Pictures!" yelled Rachel excitedly before grabbing Quinn's hand and dragging her away. We followed her and joined in the photos. We continued this for a while before grabbing some gelato and heading to a restaurant to eat lunch.

"I think I'll pass" I said trying to hide my disgust.

"Come on San, you should try it" snickered Quinn earning a glare from me.

"Well why don't you Quinn. You were the first one to say 'If I go to Paris, I will definitely try some Escargot'" I mimicked. Quinn's face blanched a bit as she remembered her promise.

"Babe, you should try some" said Britt to me with a glint in her eye. I could see Quinn smirking from the corner of my eye and I had to stop myself from smacking her. I gave Britt a pleading look, but I couldn't resist the cute look she was giving me. I could only imagine how cute her expression would be if I gave in and ate some.

"Okay." I answered causing Britt's face to light up. She grabbed a piece of the snail and dipped it heavily into the sauce on the plate, before turning to me. Before I could grab the fork, she leaned over, her hand under the fork to prevent any sauce from spilling onto the floor or me and held it in front of me. I couldn't stop the smile on my face as I leaned forward and delicately ate the food from her fork. I sighed at the taste of the savory garlic sauce and then bit into the escargot. My eyes widened at how good it tasted. For some reason, I thought it would taste like a balloon or something. I turned back to Britt who looked like she was waiting for me to speak. "Wow, this actually tastes good" I admitted. Immediately Britt's smile widened and her eyes glistened happily.

"I knew you would" she answered softly before turning to Quinn, "Your turn" she laughed pushing the plate to Quinn.

"No fair, she gets it fed to her. What about me?" Said Quinn jokingly. Britt and Rachel shared a quick look before Rachel smiled innocently.

"I got you boo" Rachel said with fake cheeriness before poking the escargot with her fork and nearly shoving it in Quinn's face. The look on Quinn's face made both Britt and I laugh so hard.

~.~

Hours later after returning to our room to freshen up, I lay on our bed playing some sudoku. Quinn was organizing her bag, while Rachel lay in her own bed, trying to get comfortable.

"It really smells like mildew down here" she groaned. I laughed, placing my sudoku book to the side. I leaned over the railing and looked at a very uncomfortable Rachel.

"Can it Berry" laughed Quinn.

"Yeah it's only for two nights" I shrugged.

"Easy for you to say" She glared. I smiled inwardly knowing she was right. Then again, I was also sharing a bed with my beautiful girlfriend so I'm sure that could account for all of my positivity. The shower from the water closet turned on and I shifted back onto my bed. I tried not to let the thought that my girlfriend was standing inside that shower naked overcome my thoughts, but it wasn't working. I stared at my book for a few more seconds until a loud squeal interrupted all my thoughts. The book went flying from my hands and onto the dirty floor.

"What the hell Rachel!" yelled Quinn. I looked at Rachel who was now standing away from her bunk, her face was drenched in water. She was looking at the water closet and then back at the bed, her lips quivering like a fish. She pointed at the water closet angrily.

"It splashed water at me!" she huffed. Quinn jumped off her bed and walked to the water closet, which was still on. I followed her curiously and jumped of the bed. While Quinn checked out Rachel's bed, I walked to the water closet. Luckily the screen door was blurred, so none of us could see anything. I could just make a figure in there. I swallowed heavily before looking at the floor of the water closet. Sure enough, I could see water shooting out of the shower.

"She's right Quinn, look" I giggled.

"I am so not sleeping down there! There could be mold!" Said Rachel.

Quinn and I shared a look. "Well don't look at me. That bed is just big enough to hold Britt and I. No offense Rachel" I said.

"None taken" She waved.

"Oh come on!" said Quinn in frustration. I laughed at her predicament and then looked back at Rachel whose face was still dripping with water.

The shower stopped abruptly and the door opened slowly. I could see Britt's hand feeling around the area and noticed her towel hung up on the hook next to me. I grabbed the towel and placed it in her hand.

"Thanks!" She said. I backed away, giving her room to fully open the door. When the door opened a few seconds later, Britt stepped out of the shower clad in just a towel. My eyes widened and any laughter I was feeling from a few minutes ago was forgotten. Britt's legs were amazing. I shook my head slightly and looked up. To my embarrassment my eyes met with curious blue ones and I felt my face instantly flush. "Who's next?" She asked still watching me.

"Stop drooling San" Whispered Quinn in my ear. I nodded and forced my eyes to turn away. "Looks like San should go next. She looks like she could cool off" laughed Quinn. I glared at her but agreed to the shower.

~.~

Hours later, after eating dinner and filling up on wine, all of us stood back in front of the Eiffel Tower. The sight of the tower in the morning couldn't compare to it at night. Now I understood the huge fuss over it. With the night sky, the Eiffel Tower was well lit with these beautiful lights that made it shine and also made it look even taller.

"Elevator or stairs?" asked Rachel

"Elevator" Quinn shouted

"Stairs" I shouted back with Britt. She winked at me. Earlier today, I had mentioned how cool it would be to say we walked up the stairs.

"Really?" Asked Quinn in annoyance.

"Quinn this is once in a lifetime! Are you seriously telling me that you want to skip the entire experience!" I argued back.

"Yes" she huffed. "its like a 200 stairs"

"600 actually" corrected Rachel earning a glare from me.

"What? 600!"

"Yes." I sighed.

"Come on Quinn. It won't be that bad and the view will be amazing! Plus do you really want to spend 17 Euros to take a lift to the top?" Asked Brittany. "Compared to 7 Euros to walk up the stairs"

"10 extra Euros is worth it" huffed Quinn. She sighed deeply and I knew she was giving in.

"I actually think the walk would be nice too" said Rachel. "We could even take great photos too and I heard each staircase has a blurb about the history of the tower" At this my eyes widened even more.

"How about San and I walk up the stairs, while you and Rachel can take the lift?" asked Britt. I looked over at her in surprise. She looked so genuine. She would actually walk up 600 stairs and even separate from our friends so I could do this? God I love this girl! Wait..what? Before I could even ponder this, Quinn's voice interrupted thankfully.

"Lets just walk up the stairs" sighed Quinn in defeat. "Stupid History of France Class. I should have never let you sign up" she mumbled. We bought our tickets and proceeded up the stairs. I grabbed Britt's hand and together we walked behind Rachel and Quinn. She had this cute content look on her face that was making me want to just melt. I squeezed her hand hoping to get her attention.

"Thank you" her eyebrows rose, "For agreeing to this and convincing Quinn" At this she laughed.

"I knew how much it meant to you." she shrugged, "Plus I heard the walk is beautiful. Why waste the moment in a few minutes when you can drag it out for hours?" She asked softly. My heart raced and my body shivered at her words. She had this satisfied expression on her face as she pulled me away to follow the others.

"Wow San, I won't doubt you again" Said Quinn. We all stood against the railing and stared at the landscape. The beauty of taking the stairs this late at night was that we had some privacy. We could take our time staring at the City of Paris without interruption or loud noises.

"Can I get that in writing?" I asked earning an elbow to my waist. To my left Britt was watching the landscape, while Rachel snapped pictures. Quinn left to join Rachel, most likely to try to get Rachel to take a picture of her. Part of me wanted to take out my phone and snap a photo of Britt. She had this thoughtful look on her face as she watched the city. She's never looked more beautiful. Now I can understand why people felt Paris was the city of love. The Eiffel tower was making me feel these excited feelings along with a giddiness I couldn't explain. You really feel like you are on top of the world. Now add your new girlfriend to those strong emotions and you're asking for romance.

"You know, I never thought Paris would be this beautiful." Interrupted Britt. I smiled before turning back to the landscape. "I'm just curious as to what you find beautiful about it San?"

I stared at the city and gathered my thoughts before answering. "Everywhere you walk, there was most likely a civil war battle fought. Each crevice of this city tells a story and has obvious signs of a past. This city has done an amazing job of preserving it's history, whether good or bad. To me that's where the true beauty of this city lies" I looked at her and was surprised at the gentle look. I was half expecting her to be laughing like Quinn would at my extremely geeky answer. That is the beauty of Brittany though. She sees me for me and for some reason actually likes me. I leaned forward and kissed her. I had expected it to be short and sweet, but the emotion of the moment that I was feeling seemed to pour out into the kiss and suddenly, I couldn't pull away.

"Okay you two, we are going to head up the rest of the stairs" said Quinn. "you can continue making out when we get to the 2nd floor" She laughed. We pulled away slowly and I couldn't stop staring at her. Something was changing and I felt it. I just wondered if she was feeling it too. She grabbed my hand and we continued up the stairs.

Unfortunately, we couldn't head up to the top floor as the wind was too strong. We enjoyed the 2nd floor though. As expected it was crowded with tourists, which made it hard to get a good photo. Instead, we spent most of our time enjoying the view altogether.

~.~

It was well past midnight when we arrived back at the hostel.

"That was so scary!"

"Rachel we weren't being followed" said Quinn, "I swear San, if you let her watch taken again I'm going to smack you"

"Yes we were! How do you explain them suddenly walking behind us after we turned down their invites to go to some random bar 'nearby'? Or them sitting near us on the same exact train! Or them getting off the same stop as us!" said a panicked Rachel. She followed Quinn around the room, while a half asleep Britt and I listened.

"Coincidence?" shrugged Quinn.

"We got off at a random stop, all last minute"

"Look, we lost them didn't we? Lets just go to sleep"

"Fine" said an annoyed Rachel. I followed Britt to the corner area where both our luggage were and grabbed my pjs. Britt moved to a corner of the room that was slightly blocked from the view of the others to change and immediately I turned away, wanting to give her privacy. She tapped on my shoulder when she finished so I could change too. Once we brushed our teeth, we headed to bed. Rachel and Quinn had finally managed to agree to disagree and were finally changing into their pjs. I walked up the ladder to our middle bed and perched myself onto the corner by the wall, giving Britt enough space to enter. I could feel my nerves bubbling and I tried to shoo them away. This is just like any other time Britt napped together, just for a longer period of time. I felt the bed dip and then felt her body against my arm. I took a deep breath and then bit my lip before turning towards Britt. She lay on her back and her eyes were closed. I couldn't help but smile at how cute she was. As if she could feel me staring, her eyes opened slowly. I turned away quickly, hoping not to have gotten caught staring at her again.

If she noticed me staring, she didn't say. "Today was fun."

I nodded at her in agreement before answering, "It was." It's funny, no matter how nervous I felt, I also felt this ease and comfort with her. Not many people could make me feel that way. "As much as I wish it would never end, I am so tired" I yawned earning a laugh from her.

"You're so adorable" she giggled.

"I am not" I said in mock offense. "I am a badass" I joked, puffing my chest out.

"Okay bad-ass. Let's go to sleep." she laughed before pushing me to down onto my back. Before I could say anything, she was hovering slightly over me and placed a soft kiss against my lips. When she pulled away, her body was flushed against mine, which caused my body to go into overdrive. As sleepy as I was, my body was already heating up.

"Goodnight Sanny" she whispered, placing a kiss against my cheek before laying down. To my complete surprise, instead of moving away, her body stayed partially on mine. She shifted slightly closer and placed her head against my shoulder with her arm slung across stomach. So much for sleep tonight. My heart was racing faster than ever and I could barely breath. Relax San! She's just cuddling, just relax! I forced a deep breath and then focused on getting comfortable. I managed to squeeze my arm from underneath her and placed it around her back into a comfortable position. I noticed this even allowed me to shift a little closer to her. She smelled like fresh linen and a sweet perfume and had this comforting warmth radiating off her. I smiled and closed my eyes allowing myself to relax finally.

~.~

"Aw they look so cute!" said an annoyingly loud voice. I opened my eyes slowly and tried to move, but failed. That's when I saw blonde hair splayed against my arm and smiled. Then, immediately noticed eyes watching us.

"Seriously Rachel?" I whispered, trying not to wake Britt.

"I never thought of Britt as a cuddler." She said, ignoring my comment.

"Me neither. I always thought San would be though" answered Quinn. My face flushed as I realized that Britt and I were both literally entangled. Our legs were tangled together and she was practically on top of me. Her head even moved sometime in the night to my chest area.

"Shut up you two. Don't you have better things to do than watch us you creepers" I whispered. Brittany stirred slightly against me and groaned. This is not happening. I closed my eyes as I heard Quinn snicker.

"Well we were up earlier and even got dressed and ready for the day. You two were knocked out! But sheesh, If I had that kind of pillow, I would still be sleeping. Instead, I was awoken by a fist in my face" said Quinn in annoyance.

"I told you, I was having a nightmare"

"What were you doing? Fighting ninjas?"

"Could you two talk lower?" Asked Britt against my chest, "I'm trying to sleep."

"Honey, it's 8AM. We wanted to leave by 9 remember." said Rachel softly before leaving us with Quinn. I felt Britt sigh against my chest and then nod sleepily. After a few seconds, she slowly disentangled our legs and arms and then sat up. She gave me a smile and squeezed my arm before hopping off the bed and rushing to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"She's so stealthy" said Quinn in amazement before turning back to me. "So how come we never cuddled before!" she joked I smacked her with my pillow before sitting up and grabbing my phone.

The day went by smoothly. We grabbed some French bread from a bakery before heading out to the city for some touring. We managed to see the Louvre Museum, Arche de Triumph, Notre Dame Cathedral and more. We even placed a lock with all of our initials on the bridge near the Notre Dame and vowed we would be friends forever or until Quinn and Rachel kill each other. In all honesty, I couldn't have chosen a better group of friends. Even more, I couldn't wait for the next part of our trip, Spain!

Authors Note: I decided to end the chapter there. There's just so much more to write and I wanted to be able to update a chapter today.


	10. Chapter 10

Authors Note: Thank you everyone for your reviews and for favorite my story! It means a lot to know that I have my handful of readers that are really enjoying the story and coming back for more!

Chapter 10: Somebody's Got You

"Baby" whispered a soft voice. "San" I felt my ears tingle as the voice whispered "Baby time to get up" My eyes opened to see Brittany leaning on her side, staring at me.

"Morning" My eyes squinted slightly and I tried to will my sleepiness away. "What time is it?"

"7" she responded. I nodded. I felt around my pillow until I found what I was looking for. When Britt turned away to look at her phone, I popped the mint into my mouth. As ridiculous as it was, I really wasn't ready for Britt to experience my morning breath so early in our relationship.

"How long have you been awake?" I asked as I found my phone.

"A few hours" She shrugged, "Rachel and Quinn are still sleeping. I figured you'd probably like to wake up before they did this time."

"Thanks" I nodded. Brittany was looking at her phone again, "Are you okay Britt?" She had this sad look on her face as she watched her phone. At my words, she tore her eyes away from her phone.

"I'm fine" She said. Her voice seemed faraway and I didn't want to push her.

I nodded at her and then laid back down sleepily. Without giving it much thought, I shifted my head onto her shoulder until I found that spot in the crook of her neck. Her body stiffened momentarily before she wrapped an arm around me. I could see why people enjoy cuddling like this. When her arms wrapped around me, it brought forth this safe feeling. I sighed in contentment and leaned my body further onto her. A small smile tugged at her lips and Inwardly I fist pumped.

Sharing a bed with her has only made me wonder how I went so long without doing so. I had no idea how I could go back to sleeping by myself.

"Today is my moms birthday" she said softly. I didn't know how to respond, so instead I snuggled more into her neck before grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "It's the second one…without her" She admitted, her voice cracking slightly. I froze for a second after realizing what she just admitted. I knew her mom had passed away, but was unaware just how recent it was.

"Britt-" I started as I leaned forward a bit to look at her.

"I'm not ready to talk about it yet, but I think I will be soon." she whispered, placing a hand over my cheek. I nodded in understanding before leaning my head back down. I was still surprised she even mentioned this at all. Britt never talked much about her life back in NY. We stayed like this for another 20 minutes before we heard Quinn and Rachel stirring.

"Rachel, please tell me your hand wasn't there the entire night" Quinn whispered.

"Oh god. Sorry Quinn" Britt and I giggled at this.

~.~

After checking out of the hostel, we found a place to eat before we made our way to the train station. Our train was set to leave at 11:45AM and would be arriving in Barcelona around 6:15PM.

"I can't believe we will be travelling for almost 7 hours" groaned Quinn.

"This was your idea" I reminded her. We were in the train station, having already picked up our reserved tickets via Eurorail.

"Well the idea of travelling in different modes of transportation seemed like a good idea at the time." She admitted

"We looked into this remember? Reclining comfortable seats."

"It could be worse. I read that this train is fairly new. Before 2013, the train rides were 12 hours." interrupted Rachel.

"12 Hours!" yelped Quinn.

"And the trains had these uncomfortable reclining seats that were too spaced out"

"Okay, so 7 hours is not too bad" I nodded at Quinn before turning to Britt. She had been fairly quiet. I wasn't sure what to do or say. Only Rachel seemed to be able to bring her back to the group at times. These were the moments where I did feel a pang of jealousy at their friendship. I felt like there's this whole backstory to Britt that I still didn't know. But then, I remember there's so much about me Britt still doesn't know. It's not that I don't trust her, I just don't really like talking about my family or past. Maybe it's the same with Britt, so I just have to keep staying patient.

"Look! Our gate is finally posted! Maybe we can board soon. I'd like to get a good seat" said an excited Rachel. Immediately, we grabbed our luggage and headed to the gate. To our luck, the train was in the station and the doors were already open.

"Yes!" Squealed Rachel as she ran to the train with her bags. We followed her all shaking our heads at her excitement.

"Only she would be excited for this" joked Quinn.

Surprising enough the chairs were comfy-ish. They were made of a soft plush type of material and indeed reclined pretty far. We grabbed a 4 person seating area. It was pretty much 4 chairs surrounding a square table. (2 seats on one side, 2 on the other)

"There's a bar/snack cart!" said an excited Rachel. Quinn and Rachel had chosen to occupy the chairs on one side, while Britt and I sat together on the other. The handrails blocking the seats were able to be lifted, so it was nice being able to sit close to Britt without it blocking us. She didn't seem to mind our closeness either. Even with whatever was going on in her head today, she never rejected my touches and even seemed to welcome them. Eventually, the train departed and the conductor collected all of our tickets, allowing all of us to finally settle in comfortably.

"I'll be right back. I need to use the bathroom." I whispered to Britt who was leaning against my arm. She nodded and released my arm, so I could get up. As I did, I noticed Rachel watching me curiously "Bathroom" I mumbled.

"Oh, I actually wanted to check out the snack bar. I'll walk with you."

"Sure"

"Get me some chips" requested Quinn as we walked away. We walked through a few carts, following the signs for the bathroom and snack cart, while Rachel talked about everything she wanted to see in Barcelona. We ran into the bathroom first. Rachel waited patiently for me before we made our way to the snack bar. Surprising enough, the snack bar was a decent size and very modern looking. Rachel was looking at the drink menu, while I grabbed a few chips and some water from the fridge. Although, we had brought some French bread and sandwiches to munch on, sometimes it was nice to have actually snacks too.

"How many chips are you grabbing for Quinn?" asked Rachel as she eyes the pile I had grabbed.

"Oh this one is for Quinn" I said, "This is for me and these two are for Britt. They're her favorite" I shrugged. Rachel smiled at the answer and shook her head as we went to pay for our items.

"You're good for her" She said in a soft voice. I turned to her in surprise.

"I just bought her a bag of chips. I highly doubt that makes me girlfriend of the year" I answered sarcastically.

"She's okay you know." said Rachel, completely ignoring my comment. "She just needs a few hours to sort through her feelings today." I nodded.

"I know. She told me what day it is" I said turning back to the cashier.

"She did?" asked Rachel, "Wow. That's good!" She had this large smile on her face.

"I just don't know what to do or say or how to act"

"Well, you're doing a great job so far. Just keep doing what you're doing"

"If I do that, she will gain like 20 pounds" I joked earning a laugh from her.

When we returned from the snack cart, I realized that maybe Rachel was right. Especially, after I saw the glint return into Britt's eyes as I handed her the chips and some water. The rest of the trip went by smoothly. Eventually all of us fell asleep at one point. Britt and I even managed to get a photo of Rachel and Quinn cuddling as they slept. It was nice to see Britt laughing again or just enjoying herself. She even spent some time talking about what she wanted to do in Barcelona or about the plans she and Rachel had for Italy too. She had this excitement that returned to her voice and it was just contagious. Hours later I awoke, with my arm around her, with her sound asleep on my shoulder.

"We are arriving soon" Whispered Quinn, "When I say soon, I mean like 10 minutes. You might want to wake Sleeping Beauty there" she smirked. I turned to Britt and with my free hand brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. She looked so peaceful, I felt bad for having to be the one to break it. I leaned over until my lips were touching her ears.

"Britt, Babe" I called out softly. She stirred slightly before mumbling something. "Time to wake up"

She moved her head more into my neck area before mumbling again. I shook my head at her cuteness before letting my hand rub circles on her arm. "We are almost in Spain Britt" I whispered into her ear. I could feel Quinn and Rachel's eyes on me, but tried to not pay them any attention.

At these words, Britt's eyes opened. "Like 10 minutes away." The sleepiness in her eyes was almost immediately replaced with excitement. She kissed my cheek before sitting up quickly. If she was trying to make me blush, then it was working.

We exited the train and found our way around the transit system. I never realized how living in New York City has really taught us how to read maps. If you think about it, the Subway Map for New York is so extensive. So reading the transit maps for other cities was actually pretty easy as well as maneuvering around.

"Wow!" exclaimed Rachel as we walked into our room. Barcelona was such a different atmosphere than Paris. It was much cleaner, had palm trees everywhere and created more of a coastal beachy vibe. Not to mention the fact that it was like 10 degrees hotter here. Even our Hostel had this more upbeat, techy feeling to it. It was a tall 9 story building set with a balcony/ lounge/ cafeteria area as well as a laundry room. We checked into the room and each were given a fobb key with a number on it and two room keys. Apparently our fobb keys also had access to the pool, jaccuzi and sauna next door.

Our room was huge! It was equipped with 6 numbered bunks beds, 3 were lined up against one wall, while the remaining were against the opposite wall. The room had 2 windows that let in a large amount of light. What grabbed my attention were the two set of electronic lockers that were against the walls in front of the two bathrooms. Each locker had a large number printed on it that matched the beds. We all looked at our numbers on our Fobbs and realized that those would be our assigned beds and lockers. I groaned as I realized that Quinn and I would be separated from the others. Quinn and I had the bottom bunks to the left side of the room next to each other, while Britt and Rachel had the first bunk to the right. Britt was assigned the top bunk with Rachel on the bottom one.

"I hope no one crazy sleeps above our beds" I joked to Quinn as we settled into our beds. The beds each were equipped with a lamp and two universal outlets, "Sweet! We can use our regular plugs! No adapters!" It had been difficult in Paris to charge our phones as we only had two universal adapters for Europe.

"Awesome!" I looked over at Britt and Rachel who were both placing items into their lockers. I didn't want to admit it to Quinn, but I kind of wished Britt was closer to me. I had liked sleeping in the same bed as her and would miss it. For the rest of the trip, we would be in separate beds. However, I also remembered how many sacrifices Quinn has made to let me spend more time with Britt.

"You are so into her" said Quinn in a low voice. I turned to her quickly surprised. "Oh San it's written all over your face. You are so love struck."

"Quinn. That's-"

"Completely true?" She added. I looked at Britt one more time and felt this warmth, I couldn't explain.

"I don't know what I'm feeling, but I think its getting there though" I admitted embarrassed.

"Are you ever going to tell her?"

"What?" I asked horrified at the idea, "We haven't been together that long. Why would I tell her something so fast, something that I'm not even sure I'm feeling?" I whispered harshly.

"Whoa defensive much." She answered back with her hands in front of her in surrender. "Just a thought, but San being in love isn't a bad thing"

"Tell that to my parents. Or even Dani" I retorted. "I've seen how bad love can get"

"I know and 'you don't want any part of it' right?" she said mimicking what I'm guessing was my voice.

"Quinn, I don't want to talk about this" I said sneaking a peak over at Britt. She and Rachel were laughing about something.

"You never do." She sighed, "Look at Britt and tell me she's going to intentionally hurt you. If you can do that, then love does suck and you're right" I turned away from Britt and looked at Quinn. "Exactly. Not all love turns out bad. Just give it a chance before you do something stupid, please." She practically begged as I looked away. "She's so good for you." At this, I turned back to Quinn and then Britt. Part of me knew she was right, but how could I not be scared of love. I've seen what it turns people into, sometimes the best people can become monsters to each other. If I admit this to her, what If I become one of those people? That emotionally blackmails her to doing what I wanted or who screams at her every chance I get. "You're not your parents. Your parents don't have that spark San. You have to realize this by now. I really think you can trust her" I sighed and nodded at her. This was too much for me to process right now. I mean I didn't even know if I was in love. Leave it up to Quinn to make things serious or push my buttons while we were on vacation.

"Hey San! We were looking into what to eat for dinner" said Britt as she called both of us over. The excitement radiating off her was enough to make me shoo away those thoughts and just focus on the fun we were going to have. We found a tapas place nearby and happily ate some food. Poor Rachel was having trouble finding food to eat, but managed to get a salad with just veggies.

"Okay, so what's our plans for tonight?" asked Rachel as she dug into her salad. "We can 1. Go to a bar and hang out. 2. Go to a club on the beach and dance or 3. Go back to hostel and just drink some free sangria!" She asked. I snuck a peak at Britt who was seated next to Rachel. As soon as Rachel said the word dance, I noticed how she sat up straighter. I could tell she was practically itching to get back onto a dance floor. I looked at Rachel briefly and then back to Britt. As tired as I felt, the idea of dancing with Britt sounded too fun to pass up. Especially if its to Latin music! I had been itching to dance to Bachata with Brittany.

"I could use a night out dancing. Especially if it's on the beach and to my favorite type of music" I said. I chanced another look at Britt and enjoyed how much her face lit up.

"My thoughts exactly! What about you Quinn"

"I haven't danced to Spanish music in forever! I am so down!"

"Alright, so dancing it is then? Any objections Britt?" Asked Rachel.

"None from me" Answered a glowing Brittany.

Hours later, all of us were dressed in nice dresses and heels. We had taken a cab there and were heading inside. I couldn't take my eyes of her. Her dress revealed Brittany's gorgeous legs and all I wanted to do was just touch them. I wonder if she had any idea what she was doing to me?

"Come on San! Lets go dance!" She said grabbing me and pulling me to the dance floor. I couldn't stop the giggle that escaped as she pulled me. She stopped as soon as we made it to the middle of the dance floor and immediately pulled me against her. I heard the song playing and smiled in recognition. I placed my arms around Britt and followed her lead.

'Y si eres gorda o flaca'

'Todo eso no me importa a mí'

'Y tampoco soy perfecto'

I smiled at her before leaning forward "I didn't know you could dance Bachata"

"I'm just full of surprises" She laughed before twirling me. We continued dancing for the next few songs until a Marc Anthony song that I could not dance to played. We found Rachel and Quinn sitting at a table enjoying a few drinks.

"Here you go San" Winked Quinn as she handed me a drink.

"You didn't spike this did you?" I asked.

"Nope." She laughed. I cautiously took a sip of it and immediately tasted the soda.

"Rum and coke?" I asked.

"Yes, with an extra shot, you know for confidence" she winked.

We sat with Rachel and Quinn talking animatedly about Barcelona when a new song played. I glanced at Quinn who was practically smirking at me.

"Uh oh" Said Quinn as I stood up. "Your song"

Immediately, I recognized the song and I'm almost 100% sure this was alcohol inspired, but I chugged my rum and then pulled Britt with me to the dance floor. She had this curious look on her face, which only excited me more. I pulled her closer and started moving my hips to the beat. This was the closest we've danced and this excitement overtook my body. Britt has only seen me dance awkwardly with her, for once I can finally dance with confidence.

I pulled her even closer as we danced and whispered into her ear, "Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito. Deja que te diga cosas al oído"

Britt's eyes lit up in surprise before she smirked, suddenly, I was pulled against her so my back lay against her chest. I wanted to protest, but the way her hands trailed down my sides slowly as the pace of the song slowed was making my body enflame. I continued to follow the beat and I swear time froze and it was just me and Britt on the dance floor dancing. I can't count how many times I've danced to this song and never have I allowed myself to feel this relaxed. I closed my eyes and lay my head against Britt's neck as I got lost in the beat. Her body felt so good against mine and it only further energized me.

 _"Quiero ver bailar tu pelo, quiero ser tu ritmo"_ the song kept playing until I noticed it was nearing the end.

I placed my hand behind her neck as we danced. As she moved her face forward, I mimicked the singer and in a low voice whispered, "Despacito" into her ear. Whatever reaction i was expecting didn't compare to the feeling of her lips crashing into mine. Best. song. ever.

We ended up dancing to a few more songs and just making out for a good portion of it before we were joined by the girls. Eventually we were ushered by Rachel an Quinn to the beach and spent the rest of our night watching the waves and running around the sand.

A loud crash followed by a "What the fuck" woke me early the next morning. Instantly, I flew forward, banging my head on the pole above the bed. I groaned as I looked over trying to find the noise. A body lay on the floor next to my bed.

"Umm hello?" I asked.

"Hi" said a guy with short hair.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, noticing that half our roommates didn't wake.

"Yep. Just fell. No big deal" He said as he stood up, his sheets still wrapped around him. He gave me one last look before he climbed back onto his bed.

"Umm okay then." I whispered to myself before laying back down. I turned to my side and saw Brittany on her bed sleeping. She looked so peaceful. Maybe Quinn was right.

~.~

Hours later all of us were wandering around Barcelona looking for something to do for that night. We had already seen the Sagrada Familia, Magic Fountain of Montjuic, and a few other touristy areas.

"What are we doing tonight? I vote for something less active than yesterday." Said Quinn. "We have to catch our train to Madrid early tomorrow if we want to see everything.

"Agreed" said Rachel. I looked at Britt who nodded too.

"Okay, so what should we do?" I asked

"What about Hookah and Sangria?" Asked Britt. "There's a place near our hostel"

"Oh sounds fun! I'm down" said Quinn.

"Let's do it" I shrugged. I didn't want to even mention that I've never done Hookah before.

We entered the place and were seated immediately. I looked around and noticed a lone figure smoking in the corner. He looked familiar.

"Look, I think that's the guy that fell of his bed this morning" I said in triumph.

"Oh wow, so you weren't just dreaming?" Asked Quinn surprised.

"Ha-Ha-Ha" I replied sarcastically.

"Can you blame us for being sceptical? You were pretty drunk last night" Asked Rachel. "Plus none of us woke or saw this guy in the morning."

Next to me, I felt Britt squeeze my hand, "Well there he is and I wasn't that drunk" I huffed.

"Yeah…you were" laughed Quinn, "but, I don't think Britt's complaining. Shit I didn't even know you had that in you." snickered Quinn.

In the corner of my eyes, I saw Britt biting back a smile, "I remember everything last night, so I wasn't that gone. And its easier to dance to a song you listen to everyday."

"San, I have known you my entire life. That booze had you feeling loose." Laughed Quinn. "I'm pretty sure you would have made it to 3rd base last night if you two were left alone. Haha maybe even finally lost your v-card"

Next to Britt, Rachel spit her Sangria out, "What?"

"Thanks Quinn" I said warily, "Just announce it to the world." Britt smacked Rachel on her back as she continued coughing. "And you know what that song does to me" I huffed.

"Sure, let's blame the music" She laughed. "To think, this was once a girl who punched a boy for just copping a feel of her boobs."

I glanced at Britt uncomfortably, "He touched my boobs in public on the subway. I think he deserved the punch"

"He was your boyfriend of 2 months San" She laughed

"I was 15!" I answered. "And he had almost stood me up and then tried to touch me." I added as an after thought. "Can we not talk about this." I could see Britt fighting back a laugh.

We spent the majority of the night making fun of each other and smoking Hookah. I have to admit, I never was one for smoking, but Hookah was nice. We had chosen a strawberry flavored one to start off. I watched as all the girls laughed about something and for the first time in a long time, I felt home. I wonder if this is what it felt like to really have a loving family?

Author's Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. What did you think? Anyway next chapter will be in Italy!

Song 1: Corazon Sin Cara by Prince Royce.(my favorite bachata song, its such a beautifully worded song) Song 2: Despacito by Luis Fonsi (I am like absolutely obsessed with the song.)


	11. Chapter 11

Authors Note: Sorry for the long wait. My beautiful, sweet 7 year old MacBook Pro's hard drive failed, which left me without a computer. So I had to wait until my new computer came in to continue since writing on my phone is really annoying (autocorrect will be the death of me). Thanks for all the reviews to everyone for reading! Hope you like the chapter. :)

Chapter 11: When i'm Ready to Fall

"In 20 hours we will be in Italy!" Squealed an excited Quinn.

"Weren't you about to cry when you realized we were stuck on a 7 hour train like 3 days ago?" I asked warily.

"Well that was different" she scoffed, "This is a ferry! A ferry equipped with a bar and restaurant and a beautiful view!" She said excitedly. I shook my head at her and smiled at her enthusiasm. I then turned my attention to Britt who was staring at the water clearly deep in thought. As Rachel promised, Britt seemed to be feeling better and was returning back to her normal self.

"They're Boarding us!" exclaimed Rachel. As the line moved, i grabbed Britt's hand, effectively getting her attention. I had intended to let go as soon as I had her attention, but she held on tightly.

We all walked onto the large ferry and up the stairs until we reached the main lobby. A few workers were guiding people to their rooms. We handed one our ticket and were escorted into a large theater looking room.

"You're kidding me... right?" asked Rachel as she took another look at the tickets. The theater was literally an auditorium filled with seats. There were already passengers inside laying out thick sleeping bags all over the floor areas.

"Well…remember this was a pretty inexpensive option and it's only for 20 hours." said Quinn quickly.

"Quinn! Where do we put our belongings?" asked Rachel. "Are you telling me we have to walk around the entire cruise with our luggage!"

"Umm yes. But its just for 20 hours! And then we will arrive in Rome!"

"Actually we will arrive in Civitavecchia" I corrected. She glared at me causing me to shrug, "What? It's like the outskirts of Rome"

"Quinn! We arrive tomorrow! Around 6PM! Where do we shower? Where do we sleep?" asked Rachel. Quinn pulled out a bar of soap and some toothpaste.

"In the bathroom of course" Said Quinn as she pointed to the restroom sign towards the back of the auditorium.

"No" said Rachel stubbornly.

"Where's your sense of adventure Rachel?" asked Quinn in a huff. Britt and I stood there laughing at them. We always somehow found ourselves in these types of situations.

"Next time, Britt and I are planning everything" Huffed Rachel.

"Fine by me"

Hours passed and eventually we had split up. I spent some time with Britt trying to nap in the theater, while Quinn and Rachel spent some wandering around the ferry. Eventually, Britt and I gave up on sleep due to the uncomfortable seating and the strong breeze. Instead, we spent some time in a secluded corner just cuddling for warmth, talking and occasionally kissing. She actually told me a little bit about her home-life before her mom passed. She seemed so at ease when describing her mom, it made me sad thinking about how hard this must be on her. Even though, my own mom and I barely understand each other, I could only imagine how hard it would be to lose her. Imagine actually having a strong relationship with her. The more I get to know Brittany, the more I liked her. I feel like at this point, I can't picture not having her in my life, which also scared me. Eventually around 2AM, we ended up joining the girls in the bar area, where we spent most of the night drinking wine and joking about the rest of the trip.

~.~

My hands held onto the railing, while my gaze was focused out at the water, the sun was rising in the distance and was so captivating. Different shades of red and orange were mirroring off the sun and into the water, creating a beautiful display of colors.

Arms encircled my waist from behind and instantly I froze. My heart raced and I started to breath heavily.

"Hey baby" whispered the voice from behind me. My breath hitched as I realized it was just Britt and was almost immediately met with the scent of her perfume. Instantly, relief flooded through me and I allowed myself to melt into her embrace. "You okay San?" She asked. I nodded and closed my eyes.

"I'm fine Britt" I said quickly as I leaned into her embrace. "This view is amazing."

"Yes, it's beautiful here" She whispered causing my ear to tingle with every breath.

"I've never seen the sun rise from a boat before or ever actually" I felt her smiling against my cheeks and couldn't stop the feelings of happiness. I leaned against her for a while and enjoyed her company until our hunger became too much to ignore.

We dragged our luggage with us to the buffet area and helped ourselves to the breakfast items. Surprising enough, they had a good assortment of items for us to eat. Once full, we all took turns taking naps in the lounge areas near the restaurants.

"Wow, it's so late!" exclaimed a worried Rachel. The sun was already setting as we exited the ferry. We rushed into a nearby taxi that took us to the nearest transportation hub.

Hours later we found ourselves stuck at the prima porta station.

"What do you mean we missed the last shuttle?" Asked a confused Rachel. Quinn and I were staring at the shuttle times that we had written in our phones. "You mean we literally rushed to the last train, ran through Rome with our luggages, boarded the most crowded bus ever to get the their Commuter trains and then finally hours later arrived only to have missed our shuttle!" I shuddered at the thought of everything we had just been through. Rome had absolutely no lifts or escalators, yet plenty of stairs. So we had to carry all of our luggages up and down way too many flights of stairs just to find out the train we need to catch to get to the nearest train hub was actually closed for construction.

"Shit! The last one stopped at 10! It's 10:30PM!" I cursed angrily.

"Well what do we do?" asked Britt. How does she stay so calm in these situations? Rachel was practically hyperventilating, Quinn looked like she wanted to hit something and I was pretty much stuck in between those feelings.

"Yeah! It's the middle of the night and we are stranded at an Italian train station!" exclaimed Rachel.

"Not that" I said gesturing to Rachel as I answered Britt's question. That's when I realized, Britt's phone had offline maps! "Britt, could I use your phone?" I asked. She nodded and handed me her phone. When I clicked the home button, the cutest picture of us was displayed on her lock screen. A smile tugged at my lips, but I bit it back."Can you unlock it Britt?" I asked.

"Oh!" She exclaimed before unlocking it with her touch ID.

"Okay, so it looks like we are about a 30 minute walk to the grounds. So since, none of our phones can make international calls. it looks like we are walking" I said taking a deep breath.

"It's so dark though" Whined Rachel.

"Well, it's either walk or camp out at a creepy abandoned looking train stop" Said an annoyed Quinn.

"Chill out Quinn" I said noticing a fight about to start.

"Everyone take your phones out and put their flashlights on" Added Britt. "Just think about how great of a story this will be eventually" Oh yeah, I bet this will be one for the books. Quinn turned to me and then Britt while mouthing a thank you. The walk was even creepier than expected. We all lugged our bags through what seemed to be back roads that were equipped with absolutely no lights. Half the time, I couldn't tell if I was walking on pavement or plain dirt and tenth occasional hole. Luckily, Britt had decided to hold my hand to stabilize me after I nearly fell several times. The walk was taking even longer as all of us had bags and had to keep stopping due to exhaustion. I mean, we hadn't had a good night sleep since 2 days ago and were running off fumes at this point. Eventually a taxi driver saw us on the side of the road and picked us up. Normally, all of us would object to this, however, we weren't exactly in the situation to be picky. Instead, we all placed the sharpest objects we were carrying into our pockets, in case he tried to kidnap us. Turns out, we were actually only about 5 minutes away from the village when he dropped us off. We gave him a decent tip and thanked him profusely for his help before heading towards the Check in window.

As usual, Britt and I stayed to the side and watched the luggage, while Rachel and Quinn took care of checking us in. I took in our dark surroundings and inwardly cringed. We were in a camping village, surrounded by nature. I could see several spiders hanging off nearby trees and had to refrain from jumping. Instead, I grabbed Britt's hand tightly, hoping that her calm demeanor would radiate off her and onto me.

Luckily, Quinn and Rachel joined us shortly holding out two sets of keys.

"Come on ladies, the trailers should be this way" Quinn said with a wide smile. She looks really excited to go sleep in a trailer in the forest. I know that look on her face. What is she up to? We followed Quinn and Rachel through a stone pathway where several trailers were parked. She stopped in between two trailers and then held out a set of keys to Britt.

"Okay, so it looks like they made a mistake on our reservation. Instead of 1 slightly larger trailer with 4 beds, they reserved two trailers with 2 beds in each." smirked Quinn. Rachel had a smile on her lips and looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh. "So these are your keys" Noticing we weren't moving, Quinn sighed and placed the set in Brittany's hands. Britt looked just as confused as me. How did they make a mistake? We placed our reservation online! "So we will see you two in the morning! 9AM sharp! Have fun and please don't be too loud!" Quinn walked towards me and whispered in my ear, "I hope you shaved" my face instantly burned.

"Goodnight girls. Sleep tight" laughed Rachel. They opened their trailer door and pulled their luggages inside, leaving us outside.

"So, what just happened?" I asked hesitantly. It's like Britt finally regained focus and turned to me with a smile.

"Looks like we are bunking together" Her voice was soft and endearing making me to shiver.

She walked a few steps and opened our trailer door, holding it open for me. I swallowed thickly before following her lead and walking up the small stairs and into the trailer. It was actually a pretty cozy space. To the right of the door, there were two bed separated with a nightstand in between both. To the immediate left was a bathroom equipped with a stand up shower and toilet. It was actually big enough for both of us cozily. I dragged my luggage up the stairs and placed it into the corner before returning to help Britt with hers before finally sitting down onto my luggage. I looked around and noticed a window was open. Of course there's no screens on the window.

"You okay San?" She asked cautiously at me. I hadn't noticed her watching me.

"Yeah, umm I just really hate bugs" I admitted embarrassed. She followed my line of sight and seemed to notice the open window. Without even having to ask, she walked to the window and closed it.

"Better?" She asked. I nodded. "So which bed do you want?" she asked. I looked around the room and on the walls. Please tell me there were no spiders in here. I really didn't want Britt to see me freak out this early. Quinn always found my arachnophobia funny, but not everyone thought it was. It could be considered annoying to many others. "San?" She called out getting my attention.

I snapped my attention back to her. Oh right, beds. At this, I looked at the beds and then at her. In reality, I had missed cuddling with her. The few nights we spent apart in Spain were really difficult. I wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. I didn't want to seem needy or clingy in any way.

"Are you comfortable with all of this?" she asked hesitantly. The concern in her voice was enough to make me snap out of my thoughts. I hadn't realized my hesitation was probably confusing her and making her second guess all of this. I stood up and did the one thing I knew would help me calm down and possibly reassure her. I walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. Her embrace always made me feel so safe and secure and I wasn't sure I was ready to try and figure out why that was. When I finally felt myself relax and the tension fade, I pulled away from her slightly, allowing a small gap in between us.

"Trust me, I'm more than fine with sharing a room with you." I explained, "What actually caught me off guard was that I didn't realize we were staying literally in a forest." I admitted to her, "It has been a while since i stayed at a campground and frankly me and nature don't get along."

"Oh, so you really don't like camping do you?" she asked, nodding in understanding.

"I don't mind camping. But I tend to get freaked out. Once, during my 8th grade camping trip, there was a skunk under my tent and like every spider known to man came into my tent looking for me. In the end we ended up having zip all of our sleeping bags together so i could squeeze in between Dani and Quinn just so I wouldn't freak out anymore." I rambled. Maybe she didn't need to hear about all of this.

"I see. So what would make you more comfortable and not freak out" I looked at the room and the beds before back at her. Just tell her your thoughts! Finally, I put my hand on her waist and met her gaze. Good start San, now talk.

"Umm well- uh" real smooth Santana I groaned to myself. A smile tugged at her lips. "What if we-uh pushed the beds together." I finally blurted, "I mean, that way we can put our luggage on one side and uh have more room and so the bugs won't bother me too much if i'm by myself" I placed my hands in my hair awkwardly. This was not going as well as I had hoped.

"So for the- luggage and to keep the bugs away?" She asked raising her eyebrow. She wasn't going to let this go was she?

I groaned, "Okay, so maybe not for the luggage. I miss sleeping with you and I feel better with you around. You make me feel safer than i have felt in ages." I answered honestly. Then, my eyes bugged out in realization at what I just said, "I mean not sleeping with you, next to you. Although sleeping with you I'm sure would be great" I rambled. Dear lord, shut me up!

Her laugh was enough to stop my ramble. "San, relax baby" She said pulling on my waist. "That arrangement is fine with me. I was going to suggest it too." I mock glared at her earning another laugh from her. "Do you mind if I shower first?" She asked.

"Not at all" I answered. She grinned at me before pulling me closer and placing a soft kiss to my lips. I wanted to keep kissing her, but instead felt the need to yawn. I pulled away from the kiss quickly, and tried to fight the yawn.

"Someones tired" She giggled as she pulled away from our embrace.

"Just a bit" I admitted.

"I'm exhausted too San. It's been a long 30 hours" She agreed. "I'm going to shower then." She walked over to her luggage and pulled out her pjs and towel before walking towards the shower. "Just so you know" She said as she stopped in front of the bathroom door. When i looked up she winked, "I missed sleeping next to you too."

Once we had both showered and I had taken Quinn's very not so subtle advice to shave, we moved the beds into place as well as the bags before finally getting into bed. The bed felt so welcoming after the long night we had of trying to stay warm and find a comfortable spot to sleep. My heart hammered as we both layed down comfortably next to each other. This was our first time ever alone in a bed for the night. For once, our friends were not a concern. We were going to be sharing this room for the next 3 days!

"Goodnight baby" said Britt interrupting my thoughts. She leaned against me and placed a soft kiss to my lips before laying her head on my chest. I played with her hair briefly until my exhaustion overcame me.

~.~

The next morning, I was awoken by a gentle kiss to my lips.

"San, it's time to wake up" I opened my eyes and saw my favorite blue eyes staring back at me.

"5 more minutes" I said pulling her back down onto me chest earning a laugh.

Once we were showered and dressed, I packed my purse while Britt finished her makeup. Once everything was packed, i leaned against the nightstand that we had moved towards the door.

"Ready San?" She asked. I looked up at her and froze. She was wearing a dark pair of shorts a blouse, but she's never looked so beautiful. I wonder if her beauty will always make me freeze up. Its like, I always get so captivated by it. I remember the first time I saw her wearing sweats and a tank top. My heart beat so loud, I was sure she had heard me.

"Yes" I nodded, gulping loudly. "We have like 15 minutes to spare too" I said checking my Fitbit watch.

"Good" She said walking towards me. "What will we do with all of that spare time?" She asked placing her arms around my waist.

"No idea" I answered playfully as I placed my arms around her waist to steady her before pulling her in for a kiss.

We walked to the restaurant at the campsite, hand in hand. Upon walking in, we immediately heard Rachel's very loud laugh. To the far end of the restaurant, Rachel and Quinn were seated at a 4 person table with 2 open seats across from them.

"Oh look, there are our friends" said Rachel as she spotted us walking towards them, while Quinn smirked.

"We thought you two would never make it." laughed Quinn.

"It's 8:55" I responded. "We are actually 5 minutes early"

"How long have you two been here?" asked Britt as she placed a menu in front of me. I smiled and mouthed thanks before returning my attention to Quinn.

"Eh, hours!" responded Quinn. "God you two are so sickening sometimes"

"More like 10 minutes and leave them alone" Laughed Rachel. I skimmed the menu until I found a breakfast dish.

"Jealous Quinn" I joked. She mock glared.

"You wish" She retorted.

Once we ordered, we continued our usual banter.

"So my two favorite friends, how was your first night without us?" asked Quinn.

"Hey! What am I? Chopped liver?" Asked Rachel in a huff. Quinn waved her off.

"Yuck. Of course not Rachel, you're more like a Ripe Turnip" Answered Quinn sweetly.

"Gee thanks Quinn. You sure know how to charm a girl" said Rachel warily.

"I do my best"

"Wow look at all that sweet talk, seems like you two also enjoyed your night alone together" I laughed earning a giggle from Britt and a napkin being thrown at me from Quinn.

Both glared at me.

~.~

Hours passed and all of us were eating dinner at a cozy Italian restaurant near our train station.

"I can't believe the colosseum was that huge!" Exclaimed Quinn as she bit into a slice of pizza.

"Honey, please swallow first" I suggested with a smirk. "I'd prefer to not see and wear what you are eating"

"Please!" Laughed Rachel. Quinn rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue at me making me cringe.

"I can't believe they've kept all of this so well preserved." Said Britt. "Even the Ancient Temples look well kept."

"I know!" I replied excitedly. "You could even see how amazing the architecture was back then. Without that preservation, there'd probably be nothing left to look at!"

"San, it was a bunch of broken buildings" said Quinn. "Like literally walls that don't connect. It didn't look that well preserved"

"You just don't understand the history." I mumbled at her.

"I get it. This whole city is so historical. I mean the buildings all look ancient. Shit the 5 star hotel we passed looked ancient." She laughed, "I just don't feel your excitement for staring at broken down walls."

"Oh Quinn, you just don't know beauty when you see it. You're supposed to get an idea of what the buildings looked like before they decayed over time." Defended Rachel, while winking at me. I shook my head at both and just shrugged.

"Oh leave my San alone. She's been pretty tolerant of your excitement every time you see a sign with bacon on it" laughed Britt."And trust me, that is not a normal habit."

"Yeah, what she said!" I laughed grabbing her hand and resting them on my thigh. We continued talking about everything we saw, which included the Vatican, Cathedrals and Fontana de Trevi. Once we finished eating we walked to our train. This time we made sure we left ourselves enough time to catch the shuttle bus back to the campground so as not to get stranded. I doubt any of use wanted a repeat of last night. The train arrived shortly and we found four seats shaped in an L type of formation. Britt and I took the first two seats, while Rachel and Quinn occupied the others.

"I can't believe we managed to walk around the entire Rome area in one day and still see the Vatican!"

"Yeah, to think, we could probably take a day trip somewhere tomorrow, since we pretty much saw all of the touristy things here" said Quinn.

"Oh, but where should we go tomorrow?" asked an intrigued Rachel.

"Oh let's look at the map!" Said Quinn as Rachel opened her phone and they both leaned over it.

"Do you sometimes feel like they forget we are here?" I whispered into Britt's ear earning a chuckle.

"All the time" She whispered back. "I wonder how long it would take for them to notice…" she trailed off into my ear. Suddenly her lips were kissing the back of my ear causing my entire body to shiver. I looked back to Quinn and Rachel who were still In a deep discussion and hadn't;t even glanced our way. I then looked around and noticed that there was barely anyone on the train. Britt's lips travelled to my jaw giving me the perfect opportunity. I turned towards her and kissed her. All day, I had been wanting to kiss her and god it felt so good to finally do so. That familiar warmth travelled through my body and I had to fight to keep myself from deepening the kiss. The more intimate moments I spent with her, the more I wanted.

A small item hit me before the words, "Hey you two, none of that!" Britt smiled against my lips before pulling away. "Keep it PG please"

"That was faster than I expected" I groaned. "Do you have a built in alarm for when we are making out Quinn?"

"San, we gave you a room to yourselves for a reason. You have all night to do that and whatever else that turns into." She laughed. "Anyway, we were asking you both a question before we were blinded by you two"

"They were just kissing" laughed Rachel, "I've seen worse anyway" Mumbled Rachel.I felt Britt jerk her head and from the corner of my eye, she looked like she was staring at Rachel.

"Oh do tell. I love a good story" Laughed Quinn. "What scandalous situations have you caught our sweet Brittany in?"

"Uh" Said Rachel as she stared at Britt and then Quinn looking like a fish out of water.

"Oh leave her alone Quinn, we both know i've caught you in way worse situations in the past" I said taking the attention away from Rachel. Plus, I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear about Britt's past love life anyway. I already knew she'd been with others and was definitely not a virgin. Doesn't mean I needed to hear them yet. Let's wait until at least a year before I hear this.

"Psh." waved off Quinn, "Anyway, you two want to go to Naples tomorrow?" Asked Quinn excitedly.

"Yes" I exclaimed at the same time as Britt.

Once we reached our station, we waited a few minutes before the shuttle arrived. It was a cute small van with barely any ventilation that took us back to the campground.

We spent around 2 hours in the bar area on the campground since it had Wifi Access. From there we drank and planned tomorrows trip.

"Okay ladies I am beat and would like to get some sleep before our trip tomorrow." Said Quinn as she stood up.

"Wow, Quinn you must be tired. It's only 10:15" laughed Rachel.

"It's been a long day" said Quinn defensively, "Plus you want us to be ready to catch a 9AM train from Rome. That means we have to be ready to leave here by 7. This blondes exhausted" She laughed.

"Well when you put it that way. I think we should all prepare for bed" said Rachel. I looked to Britt who nodded at Rachel. Luckily, all of us decided to just babysit our second drinks so we didn't get drunk and miss our train tomorrow. We had all our lives to get drunk, its not everyday we are in Europe! We all headed to the trailers and said our goodnights.

"Bed…finally!" I said, laying down onto the bed on my back. Britt laughed from the corner and then joined me. I rolled to my side so I could see her.

"I can't believe we are going to Naples tomorrow!" She said excitedly. She rarely shows this kind of excitement, so I couldn't stop the smile that took over my expression.

"I know. Somehow all of this feels like a dream" I laughed.

"Which part?" She asked leaning over to her side and facing me.

"All of this! I mean, if someone told me that I'd be traveling through Europe while studying abroad with my best friends and my beautiful girlfriend, I'd ask them what type of drugs are they on." I laughed. She giggled at this and for a moment my eyes caught hers.

"When you put it that way…" she laughed.

"Oh yeah and with you too of course" I added earning a loud laugh and smack to my arm. "Kidding" I said in between laughs.

"You better be. There's no way I want to share you with anyone else." She said with a grin on her face. That's when I finally noticed our proximity and what she was implying. She was like inches away from me. "Do you want to shower first or can I?" She asked.

"You can" I said slowly as I leaned forward and kissed her softly. I had intended to pull away quickly, but immediately her tongue entered my mouth and the kiss became way more heated than I had anticipated. My mind was already dazing and I knew that if I didn't stop there I might push for more. I had preferred to shower first, but her lips felt so good. I turned over without breaking the kiss until I was hovering over her. One of my legs somehow ended up in between her legs while one elbow was rested on her left side. Her body fit perfectly under mine. My lips trailed away from hers and towards her neck, placing gentle kisses. The way her hands rubbed across my back was only giving me more confidence. I found one spot around her neck, that I noticed in the past has been sensitive to her. Without hesitation I nibbled onto it. The groan that escaped her lips only further encouraged me. Her touches were becoming more frantic and I knew that soon, I wouldn't be able to stop myself. Her body was so addictive.

"Despacito! Quiero Respirar tu cuello Despacito!" suddenly rang through the trailer. I stopped abruptly and looked for my phone. I flicked a button, which snoozed my phone's alarm temporarily.

"Remind me to kill Quinn" I said breathlessly as I placed my head into the crook of her neck.

"That's if I don't get to her first" Laughed Britt similarly out of breath. "Mmm Okay baby. I'm going to go shower then." She said after a few minutes. I nodded before realizing I was still on top of her.

"Oh...sorry!" I apologized as I scrambled to move off her. She laughed heartily and grabbed me, pulling me right back on top of her.

"Don't ever apologize for that" She said still laughing. "Trust me. I am not complaining" She placed a sweet kiss on my nose before rolling us over so she was on top.

When she left to shower, I grabbed all my items for my shower and placed them in a neat pile. I opened my phone and put on Freecell to calm my nerves and excitement. I never wanted someone so badly in my life. In fact, I've never experienced that need to touch someone until I met Brittany. Now it's like, that's the only thing on my mind lately. God, when did I turn into a teenage boy. The shower stopped and I heard the sink start up. I sat up lazily and pulled my clothes closer to me. I stared back at my phone until I heard the sink turn off. When I looked up, the bathroom door was open and Britt was walking towards me, clad in just her towel; correction, her very short towel. I didn't even know they made towels that short.

"All yours" said Brittany in a soft voice as she winked at me.

'What?" I asked nervously, did I hear her correctly? My mouth felt dry and I couldn't peel my eyes away from her legs, her very smooth legs.

"The shower San" She said in clear amusement.

"Oh right" I said quickly jumping up. "I'll go umm shower then" I said before rushing past her and into the bathroom. My heart was racing faster than ever and I had to take a moment to catch my breath. No big deal, my girlfriend is just naked in the bedroom, probably getting dressed. Nothing to think about right? Why can't I stop overthinking this? I shook my head and turned on the water. Once it was at perfect heat, I stripped and jumped in. The hot water was doing nothing to help my arousal, but it at least felt good on my body. I stayed in the shower allowing my body to calm down and my nerves to settle before lathering with soap. Once done, I exited the shower and looked around for my towel. Where's my towel? Crap, I most likely left it on top of my bag, didn't I? It's okay, I can air dry. I tried to shake off the cold air. When that didn't work, I turned on the hot water in the sink and let it run over my hands, providing me with some warmth. As I brushed my teeth, I started putting my undergarments on. Just as I was putting my toothbrush away, the bathroom door opened.

"Hey San, did I…oh" I turned towards Britt and felt my entire body burn in embarrassment. After all, I was just clad in only my bra and panties. My first instinct was to find something to cover myself in, but there was nothing nearby. That's when I noticed, Britt stood there in her extremely short shorts and shirt and was just blatantly staring. She was biting her lip and had a tint of redness on her cheek. Oh my god, I made her nervous! Instantly, that feeling of embarrassment left and instead was replaced with the confidence from earlier.

"Enjoying the view?" I asked, mustering as much of this newfound confidence as I could into the sentence. Hey eyes wandered up my body until they found my eyes.

"Yes" she answered regaining her usual confident voice. However, she stayed frozen in her spot. I smirked realizing just how nervous I was making her. She's never seen me in just underwear before. Using this to my advantage, I walked slowly towards her feeling more confident with every step. When I was in front of her, I looked up and our eyes met. With one hand on her waist, I caressed her face with the other.

"Are you sleepy?" I asked. She shook her head immediately making me feel even more smug.

"Good" I whispered before leaning in and placing a kiss against her ear. I then whisper "yo tampoco" into her ear in a voice that I'm praying sounds somewhat sexy. Suddenly, as if reignited my a spare fuse, I was pushed against the nearest wall and Britt's lips were on mine. Her hands were sliding from my chest to my legs and her nails were grazing everywhere she touched leaving goosebumps behind. My hands itched to touch her body, but she had me pinned against the wall and her shirt was making it hard. I tugged at it hoping she'd understand what I wanted. Instead, she smiled into the kiss before pulling away from me and grabbing my hand. She gently tugged me out of the bathroom and led me towards the bed. Once we reached it, she gently pushed me into it. I sat on the edge staring at her as she turned towards the nearest nightstand. She grabbed my phone and pressed a button. "No interruptions this time" she said before slowly walking back towards me. She caught my gaze and then slowly removed her shirt until she was only covered in just her blue lacy bra. Our eyes stayed connected as she crawled onto my waist; effectively straddling me. My heart was pounding and immediately I felt that warm tugging in the pit of my stomach. I closed my eyes as she leaned forward and stopped in front of my lips.

"Are you sure about this San?" She asked in a whisper.

I re-opened my eyes and stared into hers. She had this warm glow in them that made my nerves decrease. I nodded at her, "I just don't really know what I'm doing" I answered hesitantly.

"Trust me baby, you're doing everything right." She whispered before leaning forward. She placed a soft kiss on my lips, then trailed more until she reached my ear. "But you're wearing way too much clothing" she whispered causing me to shiver. I felt my bra unclip and her hands gently took it off me. I've never felt so bare in front of anyone, but the look she was giving me made me feel so safe and wanted. Without breaking our gaze, I touched her exposed back and slid my fingers slowly down until I found her bra strap. Using both hands I tugged at it, attempting to open it. Unfortunately it was not working, finally after a few tries it finally opened and I was able to take it off her. She was already gorgeous to me, but wow her body was absolutely stunning! After a few seconds, She leaned forward, pushing me backwards until her body was hovering above me. The feeling of our naked chests touching was enough to make both of us moan. I opened my eyes and watched Britt. She had this adorable look on her face as she placed a kiss on my shoulder. As if sensing my stare, she looked up and caught my gaze. I smiled at her and placed my hands around her neck and pulled her lips to mine, kissing her with all the passion I was feeling. Yeah we weren't going to sleep anytime soon.

Author's Note: So this was my first attempt at writing a sex scene. Yeah, not my best work, but hey, I can only get better from here lol! Anyway, aside from that, we can all say finally! The next chapter will hopefully be up soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: I was going to wait at least a week to upload this (i tend to write huge chapters and then break them up into two separate ones), but decided to just upload it! Thanks for reading! I can't believe the story is almost over! I have maybe 3-4 chapters left. Everything bold are memories.

Chapter 12: If Happy Ever After Did Exist

"Come on!" I groaned at my phone. "I should have won that round!" I threw my phone to the side of the bed in frustration before reaching for my nearby laptop. The background on my computer was one that Rachel apparently took. It was when Britt and I were on the ferry, staring out at the sunrise. I sighed before I opened Facebook and scrolled through my feed. It had been exactly a month since spring break ended. A month since we had our first time together. I couldn't help but smile at the memory.

 ** _That morning, I woke up before her due to the silent alarm on my Fitbit going off. I had tried to move my body, but was trapped in a tangle of legs and arms. That's when I realized, we were still naked. Oh my goodness, last night wasn't a dream. I had sex with Britt. I felt this excitement and happiness course through me as I remembered all of the feelings I never knew I could feel. I always thought it would be overrated and over way too fast, but wow was I wrong. We had only just fallen asleep maybe a few hours ago. I looked at my Fitbit and my eyes widened at the time._**

 ** _"Baby" I whispered, gently stroking her hair. "we have to get up" She scrunched her face slightly and then burrowed her head further into my neck making me giggle. "If we don't wake soon, we won't have time to shower" I reassured her._**

 ** _Still no movement. If we don't get up soon then Rachel will find her way into this room and I really would prefer if she and Quinn didn't find us naked in bed. I then moved my free arm so it was touching her back. As I did this, I noticed her move slightly. I then started tracing circles on her back and again noticed her shift. I smirked before I moved my hand slowly across her back all the way down to her waist, continuously tracing circles._**

 ** _"Mmm San." My hand continued tracing circles as I trailed it back upward towards her mid-back. "Okay, baby, i'm up" She said turning over slightly towards me. Her blonde hair was tangled slightly, yet she's never looked so beautiful_ _. Mine on the other hand must look like a witch's. I once scared our suite mate when I woke up late for class and rushed out of my bedroom. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. Oh god and my breath. I used my free arm to try and find my mints, but couldn't find them._**

 ** _"Looking for something" Asked Britt who was watching me with amused eyes._**

 ** _"Uh no" I lied. "Just stretching my arm" I moved my arm back and forth in show._**

 ** _"Oh really. So I guess you wouldn't know who these belong to?" Said an amused Britt. She removed something from near her head; my mints. "I hope they don't mind if I take one then" She laughed as she ate one._**

 ** _"When did you find them?" I asked as I shook my head._**

 ** _"Paris" She smirked. "I just didn't want to embarrass you. You were nervous enough. I think it's safe to assume you're not as nervous anymore?" She replied playfully. I mock glared at her. She took another mint out of the container and then leaned onto her elbows so her face was hovering next to mine. She gestured to my mouth. Even this simple act turned me on. My lips brushed her fingers as I took in the mint. Her eyes fluttered a bit at the contact, but then her gaze returned to mine. It still amazed me that I could give her this reaction._**

 ** _"San, if you keep this up, we won't have time to get ready."_**

 ** _"Why's that?" I asked knowingly._**

 ** _"You know why…or do you need a reminder of last night?" Smirked Britt._**

 ** _I gulped as I remembered many things from last night. It was endearing seeing this side to Britt. She seemed so comfortable and it's like_ _whatever shell she was hiding behind seemed gone at least temporarily._**

 ** _"A reminder would be nice" I replied jokingly as I brushed my fingers against her stomach._**

 ** _"San, don't tempt me. Seriously, Rachel will break down the door if we don't show up" Said Britt. "She may be tiny, but she's scary when she's on a mission"_**

 ** _I removed my hands and playfully held them up in surrender, "You got it boss" She laughed at this before quickly rolling over until somehow she was on top of me. I moaned instantly at the contact and couldn't help but close my eyes. Her lips were on mine in seconds and all thoughts of getting up were slowly fading away. Her body rubbed against mine as the kiss grew deeper. Then my second Fitbit alarm on my wrist started going off. The kiss slowed down until finally we both parted._**

 ** _"What happened to no tempting?" I asked breathlessly._**

 ** _"Clearly, I can't think properly while we are both in a bed naked." Replied Britt. She rolled off me and started to get up out of the bed. The blanket slid off her as she did so, leaving her bare body displayed right in front of me. Her mouth was moving, but I couldn't stop staring at her. All those years of dancing has really given her a beautifully toned body. "San?" She called out to me._**

 ** _"Oh yeah. Umm what?" I asked earning a laugh from her._**

 ** _"Well, I was saying, since we both can't seem to stop touching each other, want to shower together? Might save us some time" I smiled and nodded at her before following her into the bathroom._**

I closed my eyes as the images of that morning played in my head.

 **We walked quickly to the restaurant. We were 15 minutes late to meet the girls! The shuttle would leave in about 10 minutes.**

 ** _Britt ran to get us some coffee, while I was left with the duty of calming Rachel and Quinn down._**

 ** _"So, did you have a good time last night?" Asked Quinn as she sat on the bench on the porch of the restaurant sipping on some coffee. "You_ _have no idea how many times I had to stop Rachel from barging into your room this morning. I could only wonder what she would have seen" She laughed._**

 ** _"Speaking of Rachel, where is-"_**

 ** _"Santana Lopez!" Screeched a voice. I closed my eyes before plastering a smile onto my face and turning to her. "You both know we are on a strict timeline! Now you won't have time to eat breakfast! You will both be hungry and oh Santana, we all know how bad you can be when you are hangry!" I nodded at Rachel and made sure to keep any simple emotions off my face. I knew if I showed any signs of embarrassment, happiness or excitement, Quinn would know. She always could read me like a book._**

 ** _"Here's your coffee babe. I had them add some espresso. I know how tired you are" Said Britt. I turned away from Rachel and grabbed the coffee. It was way too early to be getting lectured. Rachel should know the rules, no lectures until after coffee. "I also got you a croissant." Said Britt as she joined Quinn on the bench. I smiled at her gratefully._**

 _" **Mmm, thank you baby. Coffee smells delicious." Quinn shook her head at us before she turned towards Brittany. Her eyes widened slightly as she scooted closer to her expression changed.**_

 ** _"Whoa, is that what I think it is?" Asked Quinn. I looked closer at Britt trying t see what Quinn was looking at._**

 ** _"What, where?" Asked Rachel as she too focused her attention on Britt. Brittany looked at them quizzically._**

 ** _"On Brittany's neck" I looked closely and saw it. My eyes widened in embarrassment . Britt felt around on her neck but didn't feel anything. I sighed and gave her my open camera on my phone._**

 ** _"Oh…" She said as she eyed it through the moved her neck around as if sizing it up._**

 ** _"Is that a hickey?" Asked Rachel incredulously._**

 ** _"You bet your ass it is!" laughed Quinn. "I didn't know you had that in you San. Damn are you part vampire?" My face burned in embarrassment, but I tried to laugh it off. Britt had a wide smile on her face and didn't seem to care._**

 ** _"Oh the shuttles here! Let's go!"_**

 ** _As we walked to the shuttle, I walked slowly next to Britt and pulled her hand. She stopped and looked at me. "Sorry hun. I didn't realize I bit you that hard." I said apologetically. She shook her head and then laughed._**

 ** _"San it's fine with me. You just chose the perfect day to mark me." She laughed, "I'm sure everyone on the beach there will be staring." Suddenly her eyes widened and she laughed again before whispering, "Just wait until they see the one I left you around your shoulder and the few that are even further down." My eyes widened in horror. Oh my god, yeah no bikini today for me._**

 **" _Hurry up you two!" Yelled Quinn._**

 ** _We walked quickly onto the shuttle._**

 ** _"So something's different between you two." Quinn said skeptically as we sat inside the van._**

 ** _"Really…like what?" I asked quickly._**

 ** _"You two seem…happier." She answered my question._**

 ** _"Hmm what do you think it is Quinn?" Asked Rachel in amusement._**

 ** _"I don't know Rachey-Poo. Maybe it has to do with some of the noises we heard late last night" My eyes widened at what I think she was referring to. I turned to Britt who was watching her carefully._**

 ** _"At first, I thought we were being attacked by zombies" Rachel added._**

 _" **Yeah, they seemed to be moaning really loud."**_

 ** _"Okay, we get it" I said blushing again. "Did you two really need to drag that out?"_**

 ** _"If you were that interested, you could have just asked" Britt added softly. "But just don't ask how many times because I lost count-"_**

 ** _"Britt!" I said putting my hand over her mouth. She had this adorable glint in her eye._**

 ** _"Okay, way more information than I was expecting, but wow San! My little girl is growing up!" said Quinn who pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. "Just remember who gave you your first lesson on the female anatomy!" She said._**

 ** _"Oh really?" Asked Britt. Oh my god. This is not happening._**

I looked at the time on my computer. It's also been exactly 3 days and 4 hours since we broke up… not that I'm counting or anything.

I shook my head angrily, not wanting to remember those memories. It hurt to remember all of the fun we had. I closed Facebook and opened the Sims 4 onto my computer. I picked up my phone and put the song "payphone" on repeat and leaned back. Where did everything go wrong? We were doing so good, amazing even. We had gotten so much closer and she was even sharing new things about her life with me. Then she had to receive those flowers.

 **We had entered Nido towers after eating dinner together at our favorite Chinese restaurant nearby.**

 **"I'm going to check my mail."**

 **"I'll go with you San" She answered, "I haven't checked my mail In a few days." I stared at her incredulously. I'm always checking mine to make sure I don't miss anything.**

 **"Oh, I think I have a package at the front" she said as she pulled out a slip from her box. "I think it's from yesterday. I'll be back"**

 **Ok" I said as I looked through my mailbox.**

 **She returned a few minutes later with a large bouquet of flowers. I mean a really large one that's probably worth like $150 on Pro Flowers.**

 **"Wow they're beautiful" I exclaimed as I smelled the pink roses.**

 **"They are" she agreed as she read the card.**

 **"Did I miss a special date? Your birthdays not for another 2 months."**

 **"No you didn't miss anything" she answered as she stared at the card.**

 **"Are you okay Britt?" I asked. She looked at me and nodded.**

 **"Yeah I'm fine." We walked to the elevator and went upstairs.**

 **"I'm going to put these in Water." She said as she gestured to the kitchen.**

 **"Want me to come with?"**

 **"No it's okay." She said as she entered the kitchen, leaving me there. I shook my head and walked back to my room where Quinn was on her laptop.**

 **"San hey! Where's your other half?" She asked looking behind me.**

 **"Oh shes in the kitchen putting her flowers in water" I shrugged before heading into the bathroom.**

 **"Aww look at you being all romantic" She said in an overly sweet voice.**

 **"They weren't from me" I said warily.**

 **"Oh" she closed her laptop. "who are they from then?"**

 **"No idea. She didn't say" From the mirror, I could see Quinn's eyes widening.**

 **"San. I'm sure it's nothing" She said quickly. I exited the bathroom after changing into my pjs and opened my Mac.**

 **"Yeah" I replied to her not believing any of that.**

 **"Come on, let's watch a movie" said Quinn soothingly. "I'll even let you pick this time."**

 **That night was weird. Britt didn't stop by and seemed distant in her texts which didn't help any of my thoughts. The next morning, Rachel, Quinn and I were cooking our usual Saturday morning breakfast. Quinn had her music blasting as usual as she made the coffee, while I focused on my special pancakes.**

 **"Britt should be here soon. She's just wrapping up a phone call" Said Rachel as she held out a plate for me to place the pancakes on. I nodded at her before taking it from her. Once all the pancakes were on the plate, I noticed blonde hair near the kitchen door. Quinn and Rachel hadn't noticed her yet, so I put the plate on the table and went to open the door.**

 **"I know Artie, I miss you too." I heard her say, "We can talk more back at home." She nodded at the phone. "Yes, I promise we can talk then. It's only a few months Artie." She still hadn't seen me. Part of me wondered if i should just leave, but even if I wanted to my feet were frozen in place. "Okay Bye" She ended the call and looked up, finally catching my gaze. "San!" She said her eyes widened.**

 **"Hey Britt. Breakfasts ready" I said quickly. I tried to walk back inside, but she grabbed my hand.**

 **"Are you okay?" She asked. Is she really asking me that?**

 **"Yep" I said.**

 **"You're not" She asked again, "** **What's wrong?"**

 **"Isn't Artie your ex-boyfriend?" I asked finally getting out the words. Her hand released mine.**

 **"You were listening to my phone call?" She asked in an annoyed tone. "That was a private call!"**

 **"Not on purpose. I saw you waiting out in the hall. I came to tell you breakfast was ready. I had no idea you were still on the phone" I said defensively. She look upset, "** **Why are you getting so upset?" I asked. She shook her head and tried to walk around me. "Wow" I mumbled trying to bite back my frustration. I followed her inside. Rachel had been standing up making tea when she noticed us.**

 **"There you two are! We lost you for a second San" She laughed. I nodded before taking a seat next to Quinn.**

 **"Oh. Let me just grab that then" She said laughing nervously at my expression. She grabbed her plate and moved it next to Britt.**

 **"Real mature San" Said Britt in frustration.**

 **"What? I'm sitting next to my best friend" I shrugged. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. Britt turned away from me and looked back at her plate. I could feel Quinn's eyes on me and knew i'd have a bunch of questions to answer.**

" **So, what are our plans for the weekend?" Asked Quinn clearly trying to break the tension. "Well, I mean for this morning and tomorrow. I know you both have a movie date tonight right?"**

 **"I don't know! I was hoping we could make plans for some day trips!" Exclaimed Rachel. Quinn and her fell into their usual planning mode as I sat there with no appetite.**

 **Britt wouldn't even look at me and slowly my frustration was just growing with her. What was she hiding? The more I thought about this, the more hurt I felt. After a few minutes, I started to feel slightly nauseous.**

 **"I'm kind of sleepy and not feeling too good. I'm going to go lay down" I said to the girls.**

 **"Are you okay San?" Asked a worried Quinn.**

 **"Yeah, just fine" I said, plastering a fake smile on my face.**

 **"Don't worry, we can clean up" said Rachel. I smiled at her gratefully before standing up and leaving.**

 **I just wanted to be alone right now. Maybe I was taking this too far, but instead of just helping me understand what I heard, she got so defensive. She's never talked to me like that either.**

 **I dug into my pocket to get my card, when I heard footsteps behind me. I took a deep breath before turning back around.**

 **"We need to talk San" Said Brittany. Her hands were running through her hair nervous. Just what every girl wants to hear.**

 **"Sure" I said as I swiped my card to open the door. I gestured for her to** **follow. She entered and hovered near Quinn's desk. I took a seat on my bed, half expecting her to follow. Instead, she took a seat on Quinn's bed. For some reason that one gesture alone hurt me deeper than her words earlier. I swallowed thickly before looking back at her. "What did you want to talk about?" I asked, mustering up my courage.**

 **"What did you hear?" She asked hesitantly. I looked up at her in amazement. She's worried about what I heard? Seriously? She's not worried about the tension we are having or the fact that she's possibly about to dump me?**

 **"I only heard you saying bye to him. Specifically that you'll talk when you're home" I answered. She nodded at me. "If that's all you wanted-"**

 **"San" She whined.**

 **"Britt" I said back stubbornly. Britt looked away from me, "Are you planning on getting back together with him?" I asked her. She looked up at me in confusion.  
**

 **"No." She said quickly.**

 **"What's your relationship with him then?" I asked confused. Why was she getting so defensive if she hadn't been planning to make up with him?**

 **"It's complicated" She admitted, "I can't talk about it" She said.**

 **"Can't or won't?"**

 **"San, don't" She warned.**

 **"Okay fine. I won't push that. So answer me this." I started feeling my frustration get worse. I took a deep breath, preparing for my next question. This question has been on my mind all month and i haven't had the courage to bring it up. "What happens when we get to the US?" I asked. She looked at me confused, "When we get off that plane, will it be as friends or as girlfriends?" Her eyes widened at the question. She looked away from me and at the floor. A cold chill permeated through my body and my mouth dried.**

 **"San..." she said before trailing off. I took another deep breath and tried to keep may voice steady.**

 **"Were you ever planning to tell me this?" I asked, her eyes couldn't meet mine. I closed my eyes, "Look Britt. Clearly, I misunderstood what this relationship meant. I just- I can't continue this if its just a study abroad fling." Immediately, her eyes met mine, "I can't continue this or I will want more. It will just be harder to let you go. This way I have enough time to get used to not having you in my life." I gulped. My eyes were stinging as I said this, but I fought it. I won't cry, not in front of her.**

 **She nodded blankly at me. I've never seen her eyes so dull. it made me want to take everything back, but I knew I couldn't. I'm not that strong of a person to keep this a fling, especially when I know i've fallen for her. She stood up slowly and looked back at me for a moment before walking out. What did I just do?**

So now fast forward three long and miserable days. I didn't tell Quinn the full story because I knew she'd overreact. It's not Brittany's fault that I got overzealous and misunderstood what we were. She just knows that Brittany has some things complicating us at the moment and I planned to keep it that way. I glanced at my phone again and realized that I still had to go to my last class. My earlier one was canceled. I got off my bed, grabbed my bag and shoved my laptop into it as well as some books. The one good thing about all of this free time was that I had managed to catch up on all my reading and manage to be ahead in most of my classes. I had even started two of my end of the term papers. Once packed, I left to class.

~.~

Hours later, I was studying in the lounge with Quinn and Rachel. I had preferred to coop myself in the library, but with a few threatening messages from both Quinn and Rachel, I was somehow goaded into socializing with them.

"Wow San, i've never seen you so focused on one page for so long? Did you burn a hole into it yet?" Asked Quinn. She was watching me curiously.

"Leave her alone Quinn before you scare her away" Said Rachel as she typed something on her phone. "Frankly, I enjoy her company and would like to see her study with us"

I looked away guiltily. I hadn't realized how much it must suck for Rachel to be stuck in the middle. I had just figured she would take Britt's side.

"Sorry Rachel" I apologized. She looked up at me.

"Oh Santana, it's not your fault" She said with a small smile. "Plus we made progress. You are here right?" I nodded at her and continued to try and study. after another hour, I looked at the time.

"Okay. I'm going to head upstairs. I don't think my eyes could deal with anymore studying." I said as I got up and started packing my items.

"Are you sure San?" Asked Quinn.

"Yeah San just stay a little longer" Said Rachel as she typed something on her phone.

I looked at my Fitbit as i packed the last item. "San we can play pool. My eyes are dazing over too" Said Quinn.

"No its okay Quinn" I said quickly. I grabbed my bag and turned around fast and walked. "Ouch" I said as i bumped into someone.

"It's okay" said a soft voice. I closed my eyes and I realized that I was too late. With a deep breath, I opened my eyes and plastered a fake grin on my face.

"Sorry, didn't see you there Brittany" Nice one San! Almost sounds like you're not dying on the inside.

"It''s okay." She said slowly staring me. She had her school gear on and looked like she had just gotten back from school. That's weird, usually she would drop her gear off before meeting the girls.

"Well i was just heading upstairs. See you" I mumbled quickly as i practically ran out of the room. This time I made sure I wouldn't run into anyone.

I exited the lounge and practically ran into the first open elevator I saw. I clicked on the button for my floor and leaned against the wall as it started closing. The door stopped and in walked Brittany.

"Sorry, I just wanted to drop my stuff off." She said as she walked to the other side of the elevator. Kill me now.

We both stayed quiet and it was awful. I've never had nothing to say to her before. The elevator made a dinging noise before it stopped abruptly.

The light flickered before it went back on, but the lift stayed still. I clicked on the buttons, but nothing happened.

"You've got to be kidding me" I groaned. "none of them work!" I said.

"Did you try the emergency button"

"Yes Brittany. That's the first thing I tried." i said warily. I took out my phone and saw she was doing the same.

"No service" I groaned.

"I have 1 bar, but my text won't go through" She said.

"Great. What's with this building and broken elevators." I threw my bag onto the floor and sat down.

She hesitantly did the same. "I think this is the one they were servicing this morning" I nodded at her and then stared back at my phone.

For a few minutes we just sat there and no words were said.

"is it really that bad to be stuck in an elevator with me?" She asked. "There was once a time when you enjoyed my presence" I looked her in surprise. Is she really asking me that.

"Well, times have changed. Normally people don't feel excited when they get stuck in an elevator with their ex girlfriend." I said harshly. I saw her flinch and I wasn't sure if it was at my tone or the word ex-girlfriend. Truthfully, that was the first time I had used the word and it just felt so foreign on my tongue.

"I miss you" She whispered. I turned to her in surprise. That is not where I expected this conversation to head. "Please talk to me" Her voice was so pleading, it broke my heart. Even after everything, I hated seeing her look so hurt. Why did this matter to me? She chose this, not me.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. Her face was red and she looked tired.

"I was a different person 2 years ago." She said in a low voice. I turned to her in surprise. Is she really going to choose now to finally talk about this. "You see, I was in a really bad place after my mom's accident." She had a teardrop sliding down her face. "I was so angry and when I wasn't, I felt nothing." She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She turned to me and then took a long breath, "For 2 months, I spent time trying to feel in whatever way I could. I tried everything: alcohol, drugs, and then sex. The first two didn't do much for me, so I didn't really get hooked. And with Rachel around, she stuck to me like a tick. She wouldn't let me get hooked, even if I wanted to. During this time though, I slept around a lot. When that didn't make me feel anything anymore, Artie came into the picture." She said slowly. "He was one of my best friends and he's always had a crush on me. I always kept him at a distance, but I just wasn't in a good place and I allowed him to finally cross the line and become something. I didn't realize how much he cared about me and I just didn't feel the same. I tried to, but I couldn't." Fresh tears were sliding down her face and it took everything for me to not go over to her. "I broke his heart horribly and hurt him so much to the point that he cut all contact with me." She swallowed loudly and wiped her tears before turning to look at me. "I didn't want you to know about that side of me. I was scared that if we stayed together, you would hear about it. You mean a lot to me San" She admitted. I didn't know what to say. I tried to gather my thoughts and take all of new information in.

"Why couldn't you tell me this before?" I asked.

"because, what you think of me matters. Ever since I first saw you sitting at the airport playing Freecell, I wanted to be a part of your life. You have no idea how beautiful you are San. I was so embarrassed about my past and i didn't want you to think of me differently. Would you have trusted me if you had known that I slept around? Would you have given me a chance?" She asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea. But you never gave me any reason not to trust you." I chanced a look at her and caught her gaze, "Everyone has a past Britt. Doesn't mean they deserve to be judged for it. You were a different person back then. What happened after those 2 months?"

"I realized how much damage i caused and I vowed I'd stop. Rachel of course made me read about the stages of grief and she helped me stop." She said. I nodded at her and kept thinking about all this new information. "I was starting to feel like myself before London. Then I met you. I've never experienced anything like this." Her eyes looked like they were pleading with me. Could I trust her? It makes sense as to why she was scared, but could I let her back in? "San?" she called out to me. I looked at her and wanted nothing more than to just hold her, but something was holding me back. My mom always told me that no one deserves a second chance, but then again she's never truly been in love. Her and my stepfather don't really love each other. They just put up with each other because they both have mutual needs the other is meeting. I mean, if I hadn't given Quinn a second chance after she broke my favorite electronic when we were 14, then i would have missed out on a real best friend. A loud vibrating sound snapped both of us out of our thoughts.

"Oh its Rachel! She got my text" Said Britt. "Hey Rach!" She put the phone on speaker.

"Where are-..."

"Rachel you're cutting off." said Britt.

"Give me the phone" I heard Quinn say. "San, you there?" She asked.

"I'm here" I responded.

"See I told you she was there" Said Rachel. "Yes they are together. No i don't think Britt is injured in any way." Yelled Rachel, "Are you Britt?"

"I'm fine Rachel" Said Britt rolling her eyes, "Okay, our signal is not good. Can you tell the building we are stuck?" asked Britt.

"Yes. Which elevator?"I looked at Britt who shrugged.

"How are we supposed to know that?" I asked.

"Well I- you- pay"

"Rachel you're breaking up. What?"

"Rachel?"

"Lost signal" Said Britt as she hung up the call. She leaned her head back again and for the first time I noticed exactly how tired she looked.

"When's the last time you slept?" I asked as I noticed the bags under her eyes. She looked at me and shrugged.

"3 days ago" She admitted.

Was she really as affected by our break up as me? For some reason, I had this notion that she was fine and moving on easily.

"San, did I ruin everything?" She asked. I looked at her and let that question sink in. Technically, she didn't do anything wrong. She never lied or cheated. She was just embarrassed of her past and scared to tell me. I mean, here she was telling me everything and being more vulnerable and open then I ever seen her. Why did I even need to think about this.

"No you didn't" I finally said. Her head quickly shot up towards me and that was all the clarification I needed. I stood up and walked over to her before taking a seat next to her. I leaned my head on her shoulder and for the first time in days felt relaxed. "I missed you too Britt, so freaking much." Her arms went around my shoulder and she pulled me closer. "I don't think I can just stop loving you just like that Britt. It's really hard" I admitted. I felt her freeze up and then realized what I just said. I sat up quickly and leaned my head back. Oh god! I wasn't supposed to say that. I can't believe I just blurted that out. Fingers brushed my jaw before cupping it, I felt them pulling me towards her and I wanted to fight, but she was strong. I opened my eyes and found her staring at me.

"Good, because I can't stop being in love with you either and i'm just so tired of trying. it's really exhausting" She said before kissing me. When I tell you my whole body was lit up in flames, I can't even exaggerate. I missed her lips so much and her taste and her touch. When the need for air became too much, we pulled apart. Our foreheads were still touching.

"So what now?" I asked her.

"What exactly are you asking San?" She asked.

"Well, where do we go from here?" I asked her pulling away from her slowly. I was still scared of her answer. I mean I didn't expect her answer the first time around, so i'm a bit nervous of it now.

"San look at me please" She asked. When I complied, her fingers brushed my hair out of my face. "You were never a fling" She said with such finality in her voice. "I want us to continue this is New York." Her words were so confident and genuine.

"Well, if you insist" I said playfully. She laughed and I swear i'd never heard a sweeter sound.

"I do" She laughed before pulling my face close to hers and kissing me again.

Author's Note: What's a story without a bit of drama and more character depth? Honeymoon period is over for them lol. Thanks again for reading! Stay tuned for the next chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: Sorry for the super late posting.

Chapter 13: Just let it Be

The elevator doors opened not too long after and we were met with two very smug looking friends. Luckily, I had just pulled away from Britt and was leaning my head on her shoulder. I almost forgot what it felt like having her close to me. We followed the girls out and thanked the maintenance crew for getting us out. Once we reached Rachel and Britt's room, I was guided to Britt's bed where we cuddled as Rachel and Quinn stayed back and watched us.

"So, I trust you two had a good chat?" Asked Rachel who was in the process of biting back a laugh. I looked to Britt, who looked slightly confused. Quinn, on the other hand was sitting in Rachel's desk chair smirking at us.

"You see, I told you the elevator would work Rachel" Laughed Quinn.

"As if you could predict that Santana would run into the out of order lift" Asked Rachel.

"I did. You saw the way she was staring at her Fitbit. I knew she would run into the first lift she saw." Said Quinn proudly. "Plus she's too lazy to take the stairs" I glared at her

"So, you both somehow planned to lock us into the out of service elevator?" Asked Britt.

"Somewhat planned" Shrugged Rachel.

"You two are so ridiculously stubborn. Especially you" Said Quinn as she pointed at me. "And you. I'm glad you went after her, but 3 days! I had to share a room with this girl for 3 whole days. Do you know how close I came To locking you both in the kitchen just so you'd talk."

"How did you know we would even talk?" I asked defensively.

"Well from the looks of it, you are in her arms and Britt's lipstick is smudged. So either, she was making out with someone else or you two were having some fun." Said Quinn Proudly. "Plus, you two are way too into each other. We knew we just needed to get you alone together. Eventually, one of you would break or kill each other." She shrugged, "We of course were hoping for the first" I shook my head and couldn't even get angry at them. For all its worth, their plan worked. They got us into a room with each other.

"Well Quinn you wouldn't have had to do all of this. Britt has been trying to get San alone for almost 2 days now." Huffed Rachel. At this, Quinn and I looked at Britt who actually turned away from us. I swear I could see a blush on her face.

"Well. I did kind of leave class a few minutes early so I could get here. Rachel said you were studying with them and I thought it was my chance. I hadn't meant to run directly into you though. Sorry about that" Quinn snickered loudly in the background, but I couldn't take my eyes away from hers.

"No wonder you were early and you still had your school gear on" I acknowledged as I kept my gaze on Britt.

"Keeping tabs on me San?" She asked curiously.

"You couldn't just text her or call her or I don't know, just come to our room?" Asked Quinn in looked at her quickly almost as if she forgot the girls were here.

"Maybe we should let them discuss this in private" Said Rachel dragging Quinn away.

"But, I want to know" Groaned Quinn as she was pushed through the bedroom door.

"We will be getting dinner started. Meet us in the kitchen in an hour." Said Rachel. Just before closing the door she winked at me. Have I mentioned how much I love Rachel right now?

"Why do we have to always cook" I heard Quinn whine.

"Wow" Laughed Britt. "Our friends are really something else" She scooted closer to me, allowing me to feel the pressure of her leg touching mine.

"Yes they are" I laughed.

"I missed your laugh" She admitted. I turned to her and felt my cheeks redden. Britt had this genuinely happy look on her face that made all of this feel worth it. It made me feel like all of this was worth it. Already, Britt was being so much more open with me. "What's on your mind San?" She asked grabbing my hand.

I met her worried gaze and shifted so I was facing her. "Why didn't you just call or come over? If you wanted to talk." I asked. Quinn's question was a fair one and now all I wanted were answers.

"I didn't think you'd answer your phone." She said, "I tried stopping by your room yesterday, but there was no answer. I was hoping we would run into each other, but somehow that never happened until today."

"Oh" I answered looking away. "Yesterday, I stayed in the library until closing. I left to class early. " I admitted.

"San, I wanted to talk to you ever since that moment I left your room. I just wasn't ready." I squeezed her hand, letting her know it was okay. "I'm sorry San. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I just wish you would talk to me instead of running away Britt" I said, "I just want you to trust that i'd never judge you" I mumbled shyly looking at the floor.

"San" Her hand brushed my face. "Baby. I'm not good at talking about this. But i want to be able to do that with you" She admitted, "Aside from Rachel, I really don't talk about these types of feelings with anyone. It's easier when you've grown up with the person. You know when you've seen them in their worst, it becomes easier to tell them anything. And let me tell you, Rachel really must like you because the constant lectures I received from her all weekend were horrible." I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped.

"Well, I'm glad I made a good impression on her" I placed my hand on her waist and enjoyed the smile that lit up Britt's face. I guess that secret she had kept, felt good to get off her chest. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me."

"Thank you for listening"

As if a magnetic force, we both leaned in and our lips met.

~.~

"My eyes can never unsee that" groaned Quinn as she entered the room, throwing her bag onto the floor. Immediately, Britt and I jumped apart.

"Hey Quinn, you're back early" I said hesitantly as I tried to straighten my clothing. Ever since Britt and I made up almost 2 weeks ago, I haven't been able to keep my hands off her. Poor Quinn and Rachel have walked into way too many almost intimate situations. Luckily, this time we were both still fully clothed.

"Don't sound so excited San" She said sarcastically. She picked up a pillow and threw it against the wall before turning back to us. "Oh yeah, Rachel texted me to remind you both about our meeting. Since I'm home early she thought we should have it earlier."

"Around what time?" Asked Britt. Britt shrugged and fell onto her bed

A loud knock on the door was heard.

"Umm…Now" said Quinn.

Britt and I shared a look before we both stood up. She went to the bathroom, while I opened the door.

"Hey Rachel"

"Oh perfect, you're dressed and ready to meet" She answered as she walked into the room. I rolled my eyes at her before shutting the door. "Where's Brittany?"

"Bathroom" I answered as I plopped down onto my bed.

"Perfect."

"So what's this meeting about?" I asked. The bathroom door opened and Britt took her usual spot next to me.

"Well a few things I think we should discuss." Said Rachel. "Firstly, you two." She said pointing at us. "A few weeks ago we had the utmost joy of experiencing one of what I'm guessing will be many fights to come" At this I groaned.

"Really, Rachel. Do we have to discuss this?" I Asked burying my face into Brittany's side.

"Yes really." She said pointing a pen at me, "As cute as you two are together, you both really suck apart"

"You really have been spending way too much time with Quinn" I groaned.

"Exactly my point!" Whined Rachel as she flung her hands wildly into the air, " I had to spend way more time than considered normal with her and she the same with me." I groaned again, this was going to be a long meeting.

"I should take offense to this, shouldn't I" Said Quinn lazily. Her arm was covering her face. Rachel ignored her comment and turned back to us.

"Anyway, this is the plan I think we should take in case this happens again. Also, these are some plans Quinn and I came up with for the remainder of our trip! Also lastly, we will be discussing New York and our monthly meetups!" She said excitedly as she handed out printouts. As I skimmed through the prints, Many emotions shot through me. First, admiration for Rachel. She actually missed me for those 3 days and cared enough to help us. In the back of my mind I always figured she spent time with me for Brittany, but to know she actually cared made me want to hug her. Unfortunately, this bubble of affection was short lived as I read over the planned trips. Sadness, took over as the realization that this was really it. Our trip was at its end. I glanced at my girlfriend, who was looking through the itineraries with excitement radiating through her eyes. As sad as it was, at least I will be heading back to the states with this amazing person and of course with a new best friend. I smiled at this and allowed myself to feel excitement for the upcoming trips.

~.~

Hours later, Quinn and I were watching a movie in the room.

"I can't believe the trip is almost over San" Said Quinn. I looked over at her and nodded. Sadly we were already approaching June. Luckily, all of us were scheduled on the same flight since we all lived in New York. I just knew I was going to miss all of this freedom. Being able to just leave my room when I wanted and then see Brittany whenever I felt like it. Part of me was also terrified. I would be going home to an intolerant household that has no idea I am gay or in a relationship. I shook my head, hoping to shake rid my mind of all the names of the people I will disappoint.

"I know" I finally answered.

"You okay?" Asked Quinn.

"Yes, what about you?" I replied back. Quinn had seemed pretty down lately and I wish I knew how to make her feel better.

"I'm just going to miss this. Being able to spend time with everyone."

"I know what you mean." I answered, "But you know their school is only an hour and half away from us by car. Plus they both live in Poughkeepsie. That's like an hour metro north ride. Then there's also the fact that both can drive and Rachel's dads got her a car last year so they'll be able to visit." She nodded, but there seemed to be more on her mind.

"Are you going to tell your parents?" She asked surprising me. That's a drastic change of topic.

"About what?" I asked innocently:

"I don't know? Maybe about the fact that you came here straight and left gay?" I glared at Quinn.

"If I have a death wish then sure"

"San, you really think they won't accept you?"

"My mom is homophobic" I said. "And its not like I have a good relationship with my stepfather." I mumbled not wanting to think about him. "I could probably tell my sister and maybe my brother." I sighed deeply, "Things are so much simpler here. I wish we could stay here longer."

"I do too, but I also miss my family" Said Quinn. "You know, if they don't accept you. Just stay with me until school starts. My cousins would love that"

"I bet they would" I laughed. "And as much as I know your mother would absolutely love having another mouth to feed, I'd probably end up staying with my father. Anyway, my mom has another problem on her plate right now." I said. She raised her eyebrow at me, "During our video chat yesterday, she told me that Bianca randomly came over last month, while my brother was at Chris' house .She was a complete wreck, I mean crying and everything. Apparently, they weren't working out"

"Wow and this is a problem for your mom because…? I thought she hated Bianca"

"That was last month. Now he and Bianca are still together, but seem secretive."

"And what does that mean?"

"My mom thinks Bianca is pregnant"

"What?!"

"Oh yeah. So now we have my older brother who is not only fornicating, but is also possibly having a child out of wedlock. I don't think my moms heart can also handle throwing a gay child into the mix" Quinn nodded with a far away look in her eyes, "Quinn what's wrong?" I lowered the volume on the movie and looked at my best friend next to me. She looked really tired lately and her eyes seemed duller than usual.

"Nothing" She said shrugging. I stayed staring at her, "Stop staring! It's weird" She said grumpily.

"Quinn… you've been like this for a few weeks now. What's wrong?"

"So now you say something?"

"Yep. You started this special share session. So get sharing or am I going to have to steal your bacon again!" I said trying to make her smile or at least calm her down. She smiled sheepishly at me.

"Nothings wrong. I've just been wondering, how did you know you were in love with Brittany?" She asked.

I looked at her and tried to suppress my surprise. "I don't know. I just know. I mean it's literally everything. The way she makes me feels, how she can make even a terrible day better just by showing up, how she takes the time to understand my point of view or just the excitement I feel knowing I'll get a text from her or will see her soon. One thought of her and I feel like happiness that I've never felt before. Then there's also that cute way she scrunches her nose when she doesn't like something or the way she practically jumps on the balls of her heels when she's excited." I gasped out of breath, "Sorry, I have no idea how to explain it. She just always had this addictive personality for me."

"So her being hot doesn't have anything to do with all that 'excitement' you feel or that you two go at it like rabbits?" Asked Quinn with a smirk.

"Quinn, that's just an added bonus. Sex isn't just physical for me." I shrugged, "It makes me feel so connected to her. I mean i don't know what she feels, but I just...it's like we are sharing something with each other." I answered feeling my face blush, "Why are you asking me this? I doubt you want to spend your free time thinking about Britt and I when you have the pleasure of watching us all the time." I laughed, "Or do you?"

"Shut up San" She laughed smacking my arm, "I was just wondering"

"Oh no, please tell me you're not thinking about Finn"

"Huh" Asked Quinn, "Yeah Finn." She said quickly, not meeting my eyes. "How do I know I love him?"

"You tell me" I asked. It felt like she was hiding something. "Everyone feels love in different ways. What do you feel when he doesn't call or when he does?" When Quinn didn't answer, I looked back at her. She was staring out the window and looked deep in thought. "Just keep thinking about it" I said before playing the movie.

~.~2 weeks later

"Get it!" hiccuped a very drunk Quinn.

Britt and I were giggling as we continued dancing to the current song. We had three weeks left of our studying abroad trip and were trying to have some fun before our finals started in upcoming few weeks.

"Quinn you are so drunk!" Laughed Rachel as the song ended.

"No I am not!" slurred Quinn, "I can walk straight!" She laughed as she attempted to walk in a straight line.

"Oh no you don't" I laughed as I kissed Britt on the cheek and walked over to my best friend. "Come here, let's help you sweat that out. Can't have a repeat of last week" I laughed.

"That was not my fault. Those bouncers were evil" She said waving me off.

"That bouncer wasn't even on shift!" I laughed, attempting to grab ahold of her.

"Go dance with your girlfriend." I looked over to Britt who was dancing happily with Rachel. I bit back the smile that threatened to take over my face and turned back to Quinn.

"She's in good hands right now" I pulled Quinn to the dance floor and grabbed her hand. It was a fast paced song so apparently Quinn proceeded to just jump as if on a trampoline. "Well that's one way to sweat" I mumbled. I shook my head and grabbed her hand. She stopped jumping and started actually dancing to the song. We laughed as I twirled her finally seeing her relax a little. What was going on with her lately? Ever since our talk a few weeks back, she's been moody. Just last weekend, she and I almost got into a physical fight.

 _ **We had walked off the train, all of us had our arms linked. We walked towards the highrise club that we had been dying to go to for most of the trip. People kept stopping us, trying to persuade us to go to their bars, but we shook our heads. Today , we were going fancy. I looked to my left and smiled at the gorgeous blonde next to me. I rarely get to see her in a dress, but when I do, she never failed to make me drool.**_

 _ **"Go Away!" slurred an angry Quinn as one of the guys actually tried to link his arm with Rachel.**_

 _ **"Whoa, Quinn relax" I said in surprise. That's when I noticed the flask in her hand. "Quinn what exactly have you been drinking?"**_

 _ **"Whiskey" She shrugged taking another sip. I shared a glance with Rachel who just shrugged. Together we walked towards the club in anticipation for our night.**_

 _ **"Crap, we're late for our reservation. Britt and I will talk to them" I said to Rachel. Together, hand in hand, we approached the tall bouncer. "Hi Sir" I said with a smile.**_

 _ **"Tickets" He said.**_

 _ **I handed him the printout, "We are actually running a bit late. Is it okay if we still go in? We got a little lost." I said in a sweet voice.**_

 _ **"Yes. We are new to the area" Added Britt in her own sweet voice before she flipped her hair. The bouncer looked at her and finally smiled. He looked at the tickets again and nodded. Britt and I shared a wide smile before we turned back to him. His gaze was else ware, but he had his stamp ready.**_

 _ **"You 3 can, but she can't" he said loudly. Britt and I turned to Quinn and as if in slow motion, we took in the scene unfolding. Rachel was holding Quinn back as she yelled at the other bouncer. My eyes widened and I rushed over to Quinn with Britt.**_

 _ **"I'm going to call the cops on you!" He yelled.**_

 _ **"What's going on?" I asked Rachel as I stood in front of Quinn to block her. She had one heel off and the other in her hand in a threatening stance.**_

 _ **"I don't know? I asked him if he was the bouncer and he said something to me. Then she came out of nowhere and started yelling insults at him." Said a panicked Rachel.**_

 _ **I groaned. "Can you both try and get him to let us in. If not, refund?" I pleaded. They both nodded before heading back over there. Quinn was still throwing insults, so I sighed and took a deep breath. This was so unlike her. "Quinn, calm down." I said softly.**_

 _ **"no, he's so stupid" She yelled.**_

 _ **"Quinn put the shoe down." I said as she had it pointed still at him.**_

 _ **"I don't care!"**_

 _ **"I do!" I said angrily. Quinn waved this off and stumbled backwards. "What the hell Quinn? What happened? Did he say something to you?" She glared at me and then walked away. "Quinn what's wrong?" I asked, pleading with her to just talk.**_

 _ **"He's an ass that's what"**_

 _ **"Okay, even if he is. Why did you threaten him and with your shoe of all things?"**_

 _ **"You don't even care!" She yelled lol back.**_

 _ **"What?" I asked as her words stung. "What gave you that idea?" She turned away from me and tried hopping away "You're going to fall" I said trying to grab her.**_

 _ **"No! Don't help me. I don't need your help" She said angrily.**_

 _ **"He won't let us in, but we were able to get our money back. Should we head home?" Asked Rachel as she interrupted us.**_

 _ **"No don't go home because of me" Said Quinn sarcastically. "Go talk to Mr. Stud man over there" Rachel backed away slowly. Lol**_

 _ **"Quinn, look lets just go home. We can watch a movie or just sleep" I said warily, "Whatever you want to do" I tried to pull her to me.**_

 _ **"No! I don't need your help" She said. "Don't touch me!" She threatened as she tried to hit me with her shoe. I managed to grab the shoe and hold onto it. Luckily, Britt held onto me so I wouldn't fall. This only infuriated me as I gave my purse to Britt. Quinn looked almost shocked at what she had done.**_

 _ **"Give me my shoe" she said.**_

 _ **"Not until you calm down" I said. She glared at me before snatching her shoe from me. With a swift motion, she put her shoe back on before looking at Rachel, then me before turning around running.**_

 _ **"Quinn!" I yelled as she ran down the street. I went to take my heels off, but was stopped by Rachel.**_

 _ **"I'll get her" Rachel was the only one smart enough to bring flats in her bag.**_

 _ **Quinn apologized profusely for everything and even took all of us out to dinner days later. However, she still won't tell me why she did it. I've tried being patient, but she still won't talk to me and I can't help but wonder if I did something wrong. Eventually, after dancing for hours, we all went back home. Quinn passed out as soon as we made it back. To my surprise, Rachel asked if she could take care of Quinn when she woke.**_

Quinn and I danced until our feet felt like they were going to fall off. Although she wasn't perfect, this girl was my best friend. She's been there for me through literally everything life's thrown at me, even the she hasn't even realized it. I was going to find out what was going on with her, i just knew i'd have to be a little more patient. She will tell me when she's ready. For now, I just needed to hope she didn't do something stupid before then.

~.~

 _Author's Note: I am so sorry for the long wait. Believe it or not I have every chapter completed already. I just have to edit all of them as I pulled an all nighter writing them. I was also unsure of this chapter and the next. But I have decided that I will just stick to my gut feelings on developing this story. Lastly, I have decided to break up the super long epilogue into new chapters. Mostly because I wanted to know what happens with them too. So instead of just telling everyone to be creative, i'm going to add a few more chapters of when they are in NY. What do you think of that?_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: I'm coming home

"Shit!" Screamed a voice before slamming the door. I jumped slightly, nearly throwing my laptop off the bed.

"Jesus Quinn" I shook my head as I watched my roommate storm into the bathroom.

"I did something really stupid" She yelled from the bathroom.

"What else is new?" I asked laughing. I put my laptop down and grabbed my water bottle. Just as I took a gulp, Quinn threw open the bathroom door.

"I kissed Rachel"

"Excuse me?" I yelped as the water I was drinking spit out all over the floor. "Come again?" I asked in between coughs. She tapped my back roughly making me cough again.

"You heard me" She said. "I didn't stutter" she yelled.

"When?" I asked still coughing slightly. "Why?"

"Umm 2 weeks ago" She hung her head, "The night I attacked you. Sorry about that by the way" I wanted to smack the back of her head. Sorry about that? That's all she's got to say to me! She is…ugh.. This is so Quinn of her! I shook my head at her and then laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"I don't even know where to begin." I laughed again.

"It's not funny"

"Okay sorry." I said trying to bite back my laugh. "So what happened next?"

"Well What do you think I did?" She asked annoyed as she paced the room, "I pretended I was really drunk and the next day I asked her what happened the night before" She said quickly.

"Quinn!" I said throwing a pillow at her.

"Hey!"

"Okay, so what happened today then? You repressed this memory and just walked inside realizing what you did?" I asked.

"Oh well. No. It's just. Acting like this didn't happen…Rachel's just so good at it" Huffed Quinn, "It makes me so mad" She huffed, sitting down on her bed.

"Quinn really?! This is what makes you mad?"

"Santana."

"You aren't even going to talk about it?" I asked loudly. "You kissed Rachel! I wasn't even aware you liked any girls."

"Oh my god! Keep it down! I'd rather not announce it to the entire floor!" She hissed. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "Neither was I" she finally answered warily. "And I can't like Rachel. She's infuriating! She gets me so mad sometimes. I was just drunk and frustrated. I haven't dated or slept with anyone since Finn at home. " I waved off her excuse and my eyes widened.

"That's why you attacked Mr. 'Stud Man' then?" I asked in realization.

"San!"

"Quinn admit it, as infuriating as she is to you. Somehow you developed a crush on her"

"Drop it San. Not happening"

"Is it because she's a girl?" I asked hesitantly. "hey you brought this up"

She sighed, "No its not. It's because she's our best friend and is my complete and utter opposite. Half the things I say to her offends her. San we would probably kill each other after one week."

"I don't get it, with Me and Britt you kept telling me to say something. Why not follow your own advice?"

"You and Britt were seeing hearts the moment you met. It was blatantly obvious. You both literally wouldn't stop staring at each other. Any other couple with that much sexual tension would have jumped each other after the first few days. Point is you both compliment each other. She and I are like a volcano and earthquake! The only thing those compliment are devastation!"

"God you really do spend way too much time together. You are being so dramatic." I laughed "So? Me and Britt were attracted to each other right away" I shrugged, "You spend a lot of time with her. It just took you a little longer"

"No San. We just spend a lot of time together. That's all." She put her pillow on her face and yelled.

"Quinn you can't just pretend it didn't happen"

She shook her head and looked at me. "Watch me" she then grabbed her headphones and put them on.

So I guess that's the end of this conversation. I pulled my laptop back onto my lap and continued my essay.

~.~

With finals going on, the weeks flew until the day we were dreading arrived. Quinn had managed to keep herself from attacking anyone during this time and somehow managed to keep herself from making any moves on Rachel. It actually surprised me how's good of an actor Rachel was. You would never have guessed that anything awkward happened between her and quinn by then way she was acting. I shook my head at both stubborn girls who were seated Next to each other.

Instead of the usual chatter, we were all silent, waiting for the airplane to arrive. We had all spent the evening before enjoying each other's company. Instead of going out, we all stayed in and had a sleepover in our room. It was fun just talking about our future plans, reminiscing about the trips and apparently the girls enjoyed embarrassing Brittt and me.

"Wow I can't believe this all started at this airport" said a solemn Rachel.

"I know. I guess we should thank Brittany over here for that. I wonder how long it would have taken for us to talk if she hadn't followed you around" laughed Quinn.

"for the hundredth time I did not follow her around. We noticed her!" Said an annoyed Britt.

I smiled as i remembered how this news wasn't brought to my attention yesterday. I had always assumed Britt was attracted to my personality eventually. I had never believed that she was attracted to me since seeing me. I would have never believed it either, but seeing her reactions yesterday were enough confirmation.

We were all sitting on my bed reminiscing.

" _Tell me about it!" Laughed Rachel, "Britt was smitten from the moment we saw San" she practically yelled. She then took a sip of her wine and winked at me._

 _"Rach!" Yelled Britt._

 _"Oh please keep talking" laughed Quinn. "I need to hear this!"_

 _"What it's so true! She was like mid-sentence talking to me about where we should go next week when we spotted Both of you walking. When I tell you she became quiet real fast, I am not kidding." Quinn snorted out a laugh as I felt my cheeks burn. I turned to Britt and smiled widely. "Luckily we happened to be walking the same way as you. Then of course Quinn left you surrounded by a mountain of luggage."_

 _"So you noticed me from far huh" I laughed. Britt playfully glared at me._

 _"I had to practically drag her over to you. I must say, I'm glad we had a good excuse to come over." At this point Britts face was red and Quinn was literally laughing so hard I thought she'd choke._

 _"Wow! All of this to talk to me?" I said trying to hold back my smirk. "I know I'm awesome, but wow Britt"_

 _"Don't Look so proud San. You weren't any better. " said Quinn in between laughs. "I thought you were going to Faint the first time Britt hugged you"_

 _"I was not!" I answered glaring now at the three girls laughing._

 _"Oh please San! It looked like you stopped breathing."_

 _"I did not" I turned to Britt who had a mischievous look on her face. She leaned forward until her lips touched my ear._

 _"Let's hope you don't faint later tonight when you see what I'm wearing underneath this." She whispered softly. The feeling of her breath touching ears made me shiver. My eyes widened at the implication of her words._

 _"What did you say?" Asked Rachel in between very loud laughs._

 _"that's the look!" Shouted Quinn as she and Rachel laughed even harder. I glared at Britt who winked playfully at me. It took hours for those two to finally pass out. Once they did, Britt and I snuck out of the room and went to hers, where we spent our last night in London together._

"San! Are you coming?" A hand tugged at mine snapping me out of my thoughts.

"They're boarding us" Said Brittany. I nodded at her and followed her and the girls onto the line to Board. Since the flight wasn't full, we were able to switch our seats around beforehand so we all sat in the middle aisle as there were four seats. To my left sat Quinn, while to my right sat Britt and Rachel to her right.

"I kind of wish we had taken a red eye flight again" I told Quinn as we boarded the plane. I realized we would be arriving in New York around 5PM.

"Why?" She asked, "I like the idea of arriving the same day" She practically jumped in excitement at the prospect of getting back to NYC. She has her phones camera open and was looking at pictures of her family.

The flight continued and soon we were in the air. I couldn't stop the influx of thoughts in my head. How do I hide my feelings for Britt from my family? I was never good at hiding anything from them. Would I allow my parents to get in the way? Well more like my mom. I looked over at Britt who was changing the channels on her TV. There's no way I could allow my parents to stop me from being with her. I was way too involved with her at this point. I just needed to save some money just in-. I felt Headphones being placed into my ear making me turn to her.

"I Figured we could watch a movie together" She shrugged. She had managed to change both our TVS to the same channel. I smiled back to her and cuddled further into her. Stop thinking San and just enjoy the moment.

~.~

I walked slowly with Britt to the baggage claim and couldn't stop the sadness from creeping in. In reality, I was terrified for the future and had no idea what would happen next. Sure we all made plans to see each other and Britt and I were officially together, but that's could all change in a split second. What if she meets someone in college or decides that she'd rather date a guy? I couldn't stop all the thoughts that were bombarding my mind.

"Rachel, tell Quinn we will meet her at the baggage claim." said Britt quickly snapping me out of my depressing thoughts. Before I could protest, I was being dragged into a secluded corner near the women's toilets.

"San, what's wrong?" Asked Britt. Of course she would notice.

"Nothing." I replied in embarrassment. She sighed and Rose and eyebrow atme."I just wish this weren't over yet" I said trying to keep my voice steady.

"The trip?" She asked. I nodded at her abd watched her expressions change, "I know, I wish it were longer too. But San, it's kind of exciting too being back home. I like to think of this as an exciting new step in our relationship." She said with a wide smile, "I mean I went to London And came back with you and a new clueless best friend" Her words made me smile, but I still felt worried. "San" she grabbed my face so I was staring at her, "I love you and I promise you that you will be seeing me fairly often. Do you really think I can go a day without talking to you?" My eyes caught her gaze and I couldn't look away.

"I love you too Britt." Our lips met and I sighed into her kiss. For a few seconds we stayed there in our little secluded bubble, lips locked until my phone vibrated. "Looks like my parents are waiting" I sighed. She nodded at me and grabbed my hand again.

"Come on San, let's go get our luggage" She tugged me away.

"There you two are. We thought we lost you." Laughed Quinn, "I see you wanted to get a quickie out the way. Totally understandable" Joked Quinn.

"Oh trust me, there's no such thing as a quickie with San. What was our quickest time San? 2 ho-" I immediately put my hand over Britt's mouth.

"She does not need to know that" I mumbled

"2 what? Minutes?" Asked Quinn in surprise, "That was minutes right"

"Shut up Quinn and let them be" Huffed Rachel who was standing next to our luggage.

"Thanks Rach!" I said as I noticed she had grabbed it for us. Then it dawned on me. I won't have Rachel to study with anymore or bother when I was bored. I had finally become closer to Rachel this past month. We spent more time hanging out on Fridays and I had really come to see her as one of my best friends. "I'm going to miss having you as my neighbor" I blurted to her.

Rachel looked at all of us before grabbing my hand as well as Quinn's and pulling us into a hug. Since I was already holding Britt's hand, we all ended up in this group hug.

"I'm going to miss you all" Said Rachel, "Remember, we already have a few monthly dates planned!" She said as she let us go. she already had tears flowing down her face.

"Wouldn't forget it Rach" Said Quinn genuinely. Her voice was void of any joking tone, "I'm going to miss you and Britt a lot." I could feel tears threatening to fall so I took a deep breath. We proceeded to say goodbye to our friends until Britt turned to me and smiled.

"Britt, I'll be around the exit over there. Our fathers are waiting near the car. We can walk there together" Britt nodded at Rachel, but kept eye contact with me.

"Same for me San. My mom said she's standing with yours and your brother. I'll go to the bathroom."

When they left, Britt and I walked over to the far corner out of people ways.

"I'm going to miss you so much" I said, choking on my words as I pulled Britt into a hug.

"I will too baby" She whispered into my ear. I pulled away from the hug slightly so I could look at her. I wanted to memorize everything. Sure, I had pictures, but they don't do her justice. I pulled her face down to mine and kissed her allowing all my emotions to run free. Our tongues met and that familiar fire burned through my body. I tried to imprint her taste and smell into my memory as well as the feel of her lips with every second. We stayed like this for what felt like hours until finally we broke apart. Her fingers brushed my face and that's when I noticed I had tears sliding down it.

"So umm, we are meeting with you both in two weeks right?" I asked more as a reminder to myself that I'd see her again.

"Yes San" She said in a gentle voice, "I promise I will text everyday and call as much as I can. You will see how much fun facetiming with me can be." She winked earning a laugh from me. I pulled her in for another hug.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too San" She said, "Remember, this is just beginning for us." We walked hand in hand until we reached the exit lobby. I spotted Quinn near it. With one last hand squeeze I said bye to Britt as we went our separate ways.

~.~

Author's Note: What did you think? Thanks for all the feedback so far!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Out of My Mind

I stared at my phone for what felt like the 50th time. By this point, I was sure that I had memorized and could probably trace every inch of the photo with my eyes closed. What could I say? It had become my favorite new photo of Brittany. She was laughing heartily at something that I had said during on of our many facetime chats. Chats that I had come to look forward to very often.

I shook my head at the memory of our first videochat. Britt always seemed to know how to make me feel better.

 _The same night I had gotten home from London after months of studying abroad. The first thing I remember is Tonybear laying on his bed in front of my room door. The moment our eyes connected, we ran towards each other and he jumped into my arms. He was just as I remembered except his face had changed a little. I walked into my shared room with my sister and my eyes immediately bugged out. The room had been painted white with orange type of stripes. There were pictures of Paris all over the walls, but even then that's not what caught my eye. Sitting in the middle of the room was a full sized bed._

 _"Where's my bed?" I called out._

 _My mom walks towards me and looks around._

 _"Oh sorry San. Your bed won't arrive until next week."_

 _"Where's my old bed"_

 _"Your sister decided she didn't like the room anymore. So we are fixing it up"_

 _"That's great, but where am I sleeping?"_

 _"Oh. Your father was supposed to put your mattress on the floor and set your bed! Where is that man? Is he still parking?" She trailed off as she walked away. I sighed and left my suitcase against the wall. Everything in the room had changed. The closet now had these California shelves in it. Most looked taken. I stepped over the mess on the floor and hopped around until I made it across the room. There was an open space there which I'm guessing was for my bed. I sat on the floor against the wall and just stared at the mess. I couldn't stop the emptiness that I felt for this room. Instead I pictured the dark blue sheets and the tiny ensuite bathroom that overlooked that stupid billboard. Memories of Rachel drunkenly trying to pronounce the names of every new ad displayed on it, while All of us laughed. I never realized how that small tiny room could hold an abundance of love and joy. While this larger room held an emptiness._

 _"Oh San! Come here I almost forgot!" Yelled my mom. I sighed and stood up, trying to ignore the headache that had formed. I walked groggily over to my mom who was standing in the living room._

 _"Still feeling carsick?"she asked concerned._

 _"A bit" I replied "it must be the jet lag that's making me a little more sensitive in the car" my mom nodded._

 _"Well your dad and I got you this. As a welcome home type of gift" she said handing me the small box. I eyed it curiously. My birthdays not for another few months._

 _"Thanks mom" I said as I opened it. Immediately my eyes bugged out."Oh my god is this the new iPhone 8?"_

 _" Yes. Yours is still on the 6, so you were due for an upgrade" she shrugged_

 _"Thanks mom!" I said hugging her._

 _"Santana! Help me carry your mattress into the room" Yelled a voice._

 _"That man is going to drive me nuts" said my mom shaking her head._

 _I shook my head, silently agreeing with her. With a smile, I ran to my room to place my phone and then went to the basement to help my stepfather._

 _With my help we managed to get the bed situated and topped with clean sheets._

 _"Thanks!" I said as I turned away from him to grab my new phone. A pinch near my hip startled me._

 _"You're getting fat San" he said shaking his head. I inched slightly away from him and walked over to my luggage against the farthest wall "Good to have you back" he smiled before leaving me there. I took a deep breath, grabbed my laptop from my bag and new phone and focused on setting it up. Hopefully this could keep my mind from exploding with too many thoughts._

 _An hour later, I lay in bed feeling numb. I missed everyone already. Normally right now we would all be in one of our rooms hanging out or even partying. I missed being able to leave my room at 2am to see Britt. My phone ringing brought me out of my depressing thoughts. Immediately, I recognized the photo displayed on my screen and rushed to answer it._

 _"Hey San!" Said an excited Brittany._

 _"Hey!" I greeted._

 _"What you up to?" She asked. "Did I interrupt anything special?"_

 _"Nope unless you count laying in bed special" I laughed._

 _"Well it depends… anyone with you there?" She joked._

 _"Aww man I think she's on to us" I whispered to the wall playfully._

 _"Well I guess you're too busy to FaceTime then…" she trailed off. I could hear the laughter in her voice._

 _"Right now?" I asked jumping out of bed quickly. I ran to my closet to put some nice pjs on and stared at the mirror. Instead of answering, my phone beeped. On the screen showed the FaceTime request. I quickly checked my appearance one last time before shutting the door and running back to my bed._

 _"Sanny!" Said a radiant Britt. Her smile was so contagious that I couldn't help but smile back at her. All my depressing thoughts from earlier were erased._

 _"Britt!" I said just as loud as I leaned over and grabbed my headphones. I couldn't stop staring at her, she had this cute expression on her face._

 _"How are you doing baby?" She asked after a few seconds._

 _I paused wondering if I should answer truthfully. "I've been better." I sighed, "I miss you"_

 _Her smile grew wider as she replied, "I miss you too" Britt always knew how to make my day better. Then again, all she really had to do was be there and I was happy. We could be sitting on the floor playing with our phones and I'd be content just because I'm with her and for some crazy reason she chose to be with me too. "San what's wrong?" She asked_

 _"Nothing" I answered quickly earning a raised eyebrow. "It's nothing baby. I just miss the UK. I've never really had a great relationship with my family" I sighed. She nodded and I prayed she would drop the subject. It was our first time video chatting and I really didn't want to talk about my family. "So how's your first day back?" I asked changing the subject._

 _"It's been good our dads took us out for dinner. We just got back now" she smiled making my heart flutter. She just got back home and her first thought was to call me. "So let me see your room San! I want to see your childhood!" She laughed. I looked around and shivered. She's going to think I'm a pig. Clothes were strewn all over the floor still, all the furniture was covered in items and my sisters bed was barely noticeable under the pile of crap she left on it._

 _"Uh are you sure?" I asked practically begging her with my eyes to change her mind._

 _Instead she laughed, "San nothing to be embarrassed about." I smiled at her tone and the cute look she was giving me was slowly making me relent, "please"_

 _"Well if I do…what's in it for me?" I asked in a low voice, not wanted my parents to hear me.Immediately her eyes lit up and then her smile was replaced with a smirk. Oh dear lord what did I just start?_

 _"Well maybe I could tell you what I'd be doing to you if I was there with you right now" Britt answered making me shiver. My eyes bugged out at her and I couldn't stop my over imaginative brain from thinking of all the scenarios that were possible._

 _"well I uh think we could work something out" I replied trying to regain my confidence. She laughed at my unease._

 _"Good" she whispered, "now show me your room!" I shook my head at her and switched the camera view._

 _"Well this is my sisters side of the room." I said as I slowly moved the camera. I stood up and continued walking around the room._

 _"Wow. I like the floor" Said Britt. I couldn't hear any sarcasm in her voice._

 _How can she even see the floor under this mess. I thought to myself._

 _"Thanks" I Said. I then moved across the room and pointed the camera at my side, "and this is my side" my side was way cleaner and sadly only consisted of a mattress on the floor and my videogames and tv._

 _"An Xbox One?" Laughed Britt, "What you don't like PlayStation?"_

 _"I'm a Microsoft girl" I said proudly._

 _"I never took you for a minimalist" laughed Britt._

 _"Oh well most of my items are in storage in Albany. And my sister decided to decorate the entire room and get rid of my bed and dresser while I was gone" I sighed "my bed frame comes in next week"_

 _"Oh that explains it. Your room doesn't look like…you" She said as if in thought, "Where's your sister?" She asked_

 _"She's on vacation with my aunt. My brothers_ _working a double today" I replied warily. I tried not to sound as depressed as I felt, but I couldn't help it. My family was always a sore point with me. Britt nodded._

 _"Well I guess that's good for us right now" contemplated Britt. I looked at the screen in confusion. "I hope you locked your bedroom door San." She said in a low voice. My heart beat fast and before I could even think, I stood up quickly, phone in hand and ran to lock it earning a giggle from Britt. I had a feeling I'm going to love FaceTiming with her._

"Hey San, do you have anymore gum?" Asked Quinn. I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Oh yeah" I answered. I reached into my purse and grabbed some of my winter fresh gum and handed her some.

I opened my phone and checked myself out in the camera.

"San for the love of god, you look great." Whined Quinn, "it's like the 10th time you've done that this trip"

"I just want to look ok." I sighed

"San this girl has already witnessed you at your worst" laughed Quinn.I glared at her. "Hey! It's a good thing! I mean remember that time Rachel screamed when she saw you first thing in the morning. Britt barely even blinked. That girls got it bad for you",

"Well I would hope so. She has woken up to me quite a few times in the past few months!" I defended.

"You weren't even an item yet" laughed Quinn. I groaned at this. "What? It's cute San"

"It's not"

"You okay San?" Asked Quinn cautiously, "still sick?"

"I'm feeling a bit better. Nausea is better" I answered. My jet lag had been awful.

"Good! Because I swear if you throw up on me again, I will hurt you" huffed Quinn.

"Seriously? It was one time Quinn, let it go!" Before she could answer me, her phone beeped. She looked at it and shook her head.

"Tell Finn he sucks" I said before looking out the window. "I'll never know what you see in him" I added turning back to her. She shrugged in Response.

"He makes the time go by" I stared at her.

"How we both understand each other so well, I'll never understand"

"What?" She asked, "he's been on his best behavior"

"Well I give that one a week" I laughed.

"San" she warned.

"Okay okay" I said in mock surrender, "I'll stop"

"Poughkeepsie next stop!" Yelled a voice through the loudspeaker.

Immediately, my nerves were on high alert and I felt myself scrambling to fix myself up.

"San relax!" Giggled Quinn.

"I can't!" I sighed trying to breath, "I'm meeting her family Quinn! Her father will be there!" We stood up and started grabbing our belongings.

"Okay, I could see why that would scare you" She said.

"What? No advice?"

"San we are there for an entire week. You have a week to make him like you. Plus we are staying at Rachel's place, not Britts" she shrugged, "also, aren't you both in the closet still"

"I am. Britts never really cared who knew"

"San, do you think she told her dad?"

"No, not without warning me first"

"Exactly."

"But still if Britt and I stay together for a long time, he will eventually know we are dating. I need him to approve of me!"

"Baby steps!" Interrupted Quinn. She pushed me towards the train door with my small luggage before struggling with her very large one.

"Quinn, did you really need to pack all of this?" I asked staring at the huge bag. "Like This bag is almost my height" i snickered.

"Well you are pretty short" she quipped.

"I am—" the doors opened. We hurried off the train and followed the crowd walking to the stairs.

"Where's the elevator?" I asked as I peeked at Quinn.

"I got this San. I don't need an elevator"

"Quinn"

"Just go up and text the girls we are here" she said waving me off. I grabbed my luggage and continued up the stairs.

"Of course this girl makes me take the stairs. If I fall backwards I'm going to smack her with my luggage" I mumbled underneath my breath. Finally I made it to the top and put my luggage down. I looked behind me and saw A stubborn Quinn, struggling with hers. I should probably go down and help her. I grabbed my phone and shot a quick text into our group chat before looking around for a spot for my luggage. That's when I saw in the corner of my eye; familiar beautiful blonde hair. I watched for a moment as she stared at her phone. Something she saw made her bite her lip before she shoved it into her pocket and looked around. Suddenly, as if feeling my stare, our eyes locked. Her expression changed and The most beautiful smile was being directed at me. Pictures and FaceTiming don't do her any justice. My girlfriend is hot! As if moving on their own, my feet pulled me towards her. My luggage was slowing me down, but I didn't care. I just wanted to be in her arms again. I wanted to smell her perfume, I wanted to feel safe again. That's when I realized, she was walking towards me too. I couldn't stop the way my smile widened even more as I realized she missed me just as badly. Before I could stop myself I was walking faster, almost even running towards her until finally I collided into her and found myself wrapped in her arms. Immediately, her lips were found mine and her tongue massaging my own. Thank goodness her arms wrapped around my waist allowing her to hold me steady. Relief is the first thing I felt. Relief that I was able to hold her again and feel the flurry of emotions that came with being around her. My arms looped comfortably around her neck allowing me to pull her closer. Her lips felt so good against mine and my god her perfume was driving me crazy.

"You know I missed you too San" Said a voice next to us. I wanted to groan as I knew our moment was probably over. "You know I should feel hurt right now San" I shifted slightly getting ready to slow the kiss, but Britts arm tightened around my waist and pulled my body completely against hers."How- what the- Quinn! You were supposed to pack less!" I could feel laughter bubbling in the pit of my stomach but I tried to push it aside and focus on the beautiful person in front of me. "Seriously it's taller than me!" Rachel yelled from far. I could feel Britts lips smiling against my own. Slowly I pulled my lips away and instead pressed my forehead against hers. Her eyes were practically glowing, completely matching her wide smile.

"I missed you Baby" she said after a few seconds.

"I missed you too" I answered back. I felt myself leaning in again just wanting to taste her again, until the sound of bickering interrupted.

"Rachel, you asked me to pack one bag! So I did" huffed Quinn. "This is light packing"

"Quinn you could fit San in there easily." Argued Rachel as she walked next to Quinn.

"Well to Quinn's defense, we are staying a week" I defended.

"Exactly!" Quinn let go of her luggage and pushed me out the way so she could hug Britt. I shook my head at her and hugged Rachel.

"Well now that we are all here, lets go! Are you girls hungry?" Asked Rachel as she looped my arm with hers and then pulled Quinn to her other side. I laughed and grabbed Britts arm allowing us to all walk arm in arm to Rachel's car.

"I call shotgun!" Yelled Quinn as we reached Rachel's red Hyundai. Both girls broke our arm link and ran to their seats. Britt and I shook our heads and giggled at our friends.

Britt held the door open and ushered me inside. I squeezed her hand and scooted into the backseat with her following behind me. I smiled as I felt her scoot into the middle seat and close the gap in between us. I couldn't help but bite my bottom lip as I felt her hand rest on my lap. I turned to her and couldn't believe that I managed two weeks without seeing her. As if sensing my stare, she turned to me and our eyes met. I remember just a few months ago, I would have been so embarrassed that she caught me looking at her. But now, I wanted her to know that I was staring. I wanted her to know that I missed her and that she's constantly on my mind. God I wanted to kiss her again. Instead I smiled at her, leaned forward and placed a kiss on her cheek. Her smile widened, but my focus shifted quickly to her hand that was squeezing my thigh.

"No making out back there" lectured Rachel, while Quinn snickered from the seat in front of me. "I'm serious. I'm watching you" I could see her eyes in the rear view mirror glaring at me.

The morning continued too fast for my liking. We ended up eating breakfast at a diner before making our way to Brittany's house. The girls continued talking, but I stared it the window. Truth was, I was terrified. What if her father didn't approve of me? I mean if he didn't like me and I was only being introduced as a friend than that must mean something…right? I really needed him to like me.

A kiss on my cheek brought me back to my reality. Britt was smiling at me. "You okay San?" She asked quietly. I turned to Rachel and Quinn who were still fighting over the radio before nodding at her. "liar" she responded softly. Instead of feeling any offense to her comment, I was surprisingly proud. The only other person who can always call me out on a lie was sitting in the front seat still bickering.

"I'm just nervous" I responded.

"nervous?" She asked. God she's going to make me say it.

I sighed, "I've never really done this." I said, "you know, Met my girlfriend/ boyfriends parents" Her smile grew wider.

"Aww San my dad will love you!" She whispered. "if it makes you feel better he won't be home until later this week. That should give you time to calm your nerves" she said. Why couldn't she tell me this earlier? I'm here practically having a panic attack about this and he won't even be there.

"Alright Britt. There's your house. Try not to take forever" smirked Rachel.

Britt shook her head and scrambled out of the car, leaving from her side. After a few seconds, my door opened. "You coming Inside San?" She Asked.

"Yes" I said a little too excitedly. "I mean sure" I corrected.

"Smooth San" laughed Quinn. "I'll keep a Rachel comfortable" she said winking at me. I shrugged both of their smiles off and exited the car.

I grabbed Britts hand and let her lead me into her house. It was a beautiful home. The outside was partially made of stone with a yellow vinyl siding covering the rest of the home. Inside was even more beautiful. As soon as I walked in there was a wooden staircase leading upstairs. Britt led me upstairs and dragged me through the hallway until we came to the farthest room. She opened the white door and ushered me inside. Before I could even look around, my back was thrown against the door and her lips against mine. It only took a few seconds before I responded with as much intensity. Her tongue was already battling with my own almost frantically. This kiss was completely different from the one we shared at the train station. I could feel the need, the need to feel close again, to touch each other. Her hands roamed my body until they found the hem of my shirt. I couldn't stop the moan that escaped as her fingers brushed my stomach. I pulled her closer, trying to eliminate any gap from between us. Her body grinded against mine and I felt my knees go weak. My watch vibrated and a loud beep went off, but I ignored it. Instead choosing to enjoy the feel of her against me again. I've been craving her ever since we parted at the airport. Suddenly Britt's phone vibrated. Her touches slowly became less frantic and our kiss slowed down until our lips broke apart. I struggled to catch my breath and calm my now racing heart.

"So" I started, "someone missed me" I opened my eyes and enjoyed the way she was staring at me. Surprisingly it wasn't a look of pure lust, there was more in that look.

"You have no idea San." She responded. She placed one last kiss on my lips before releasing her hold against me.

"So this is your room" I stated more than asked. She nodded and walked to her dresser. Her room was so calming. The walls were painted a light blue, similar to her eye color. I'd only seen pieces of her room during our video chats, but it amazed me how Brittany this room was.

I sat on her full sized bed and kept looking around. She had pictures taped to the wall behind the headboard of her bed. I saw pictures of her and Rachel with a group of girls that I'd seen occasionally on her Facebook. Then I saw it, a picture of me on her wall. It was next to a few pictures of our group with Quinn and Rachel. It surprised me to see one of just me though on her wall.

I stood up to get a better look and felt a swarm of butterflies in my stomach. She has a picture of me on her wall! Her arms wrapped around my waist from behind and her head settled on the crook of my neck. I closed my eyes briefly and just enjoyed her intoxicating scent. I still haven't found out what perfume or lotion she uses.

"I love that pic of you" she said after a few minutes making me smile. "These are some of my high school friends" she said after another minute. "You'll probably meet them all this week." I pulled away slightly and turned around. I couldn't stop myself from placing a kiss on her inviting lips. She was just so freaking cute!

"I can't wait to meet them" I said truthfully. If they're anything like her or Rachel, I'll probably enjoy their company. She smiled and kissed me again. Then of course both Our phones ring.

"I wonder who that is?" She asked laughing.

"Are you ready?" I asked

"Yep" she answered. She grabbed her luggage with one hand and my hand in her other. She gave me a very brief tour of her house before we ended up in Rachel's car.

Authors Note: sorry for the long wait. Just going through a case of writers block. I'll keep trying to update as much as I can.


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